Legacy
by Fruitloop Trooper
Summary: 15years after Malomyotismon's defeat,Tai was chosen to be the Master Digidestined of Tokyo and train the Tamers that would be arriving,but didn't.Now evil has crept into the city,and Tai must join forces with the Tamers to save the 1216
1. Genesis: Chapter 1

_Author's note: While I did call this story Makura's Heart for the preview in Mystic Digimon War, I have decided to change the title. It will now be called,"Legacy. _

_Also, this is an alternate reality story in which the Tamers are older, 15-16, around that age, but they're in the last year of middle school. This is going to be a kind of re-write of season 3, but I think you'll enjoy it. Tai's in it!_

Heighten View Terrace, Tokyo, Japan, 20 years ago...

"...ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!" Taichi Kamiya cheered as the soccer ball landed in his hands.

"Impressive."

He jumped slightly when he heard the foreign voice. He came to the small section of the park because he thought it was deserted. He didn't expect that anyone else would arrive, especially at this late hour.

He turned around slowly and sighed with relif."Oh, Dad, it's only you."

His father had his arms crossed while he was leaning against one of the lamp posts. "I watched the whole thing, bouncing the soccer ball a hundred times on your head, you're good, Tai."

Tai grinned. "Thanks Dad."

His father uncrossed his arms and walked towards his five-year-old son. "Now, why are you out this late at night?"

"I couldn't sleep," Tai said, shifting the ball in his hands.

"I think all those comics that you're reading before bed are getting you too excited. From now on, you can't read them before bed."

Tai sighed,"Oh.."

"Come on," his father said, "Let's go home."

As they started walking, Tai spoke up. "You know, I'm going to be in comic books some day."

"Really?" his father asked.

"Yup!" Tai said, nodding,"I'm going to be a great hero! I'm going to have super powers, and be the leader of a super team! Then, I'm going to save the world!"

"What are you going to do after that?"

"I'm going to be a famous soccer player!"

"Maybe you should think about becoming a teacher..."

"Awe!" Tai shouted,"I hate school!"

His father smiled as he wrapped his arm around his son and started to laugh slightly.

"Hey dad," Tai said,"If I can't read comics before bed, can I read them when I'm suppose to be doing my homework?"

Legacy

The light of the day sun slowly began to fade as night descended on the city below. The busy people below didn't notice, they kept their eyes completely focused on the ground in front of them. To many of them, star gazing was useless, the 'real' world was all that mattered. If they had been looking up, however, they would have noticed one of the stars in the black sky seemed to have exploded.

It was not a supernova, though, nor was it even a nova, the people wouldn't have known what exactly it was, only a few people on earth would be able to identify it. It was a gate to another world, a Digital World.

Something emerged from the bright flash, a creature the world below had seen only rarely. It was a large green skinned monster, with a giant mouth, two nasty tusks, and a spiked club that he swung around in the air. The creature landed on one of the many buildings that rose high into the air.

He was slightly disoriented, but he knew where he was. He laughed to himself as he began to walk towards the ledge of the roof. Before he could reach it, however, he became aware of a group of beings floating around the roof.

He knew who they were, they were the inhabitants of the world he was on, he knew they were humans, but, he didn't know they could fly! As he looked closer at the many humans hovering around the building, he realized that the square devices on his back were keeping them afloat.

He was unsure of what to do, but a soon as he took of step, one of the humans shouted out,"Stay right where you are, Ogremon!"

The creature turned to the one that called out his name. This human was slightly smaller than the others, and while the others were wearing just black jump suits, this one had a black cape flowing behind him. He also had a sharp sword strapped to his side, but the most shocking thing of all, was that his left was was bright red. "I said, don't move!"

Ogremon laughed slightly as he raised his club. When he did, he noticed that the rest of the humans lifted objects he recognized as guns pointed towards him. "This is your last chance," the human with the cape shouted.

Ogremon laughed and charged towards the leader of the group. Suddenly, he became of a sharp, fierce pain in all of his body. He turned his head and saw that all of the humans' guns were firing at him. The one with the cape smiled slightly,"I told you not to move!"

Ogremon tried to charge forward, but the guns' energy beams intensified. Ogremon screamed out in pain as he vanished from sight.

The one with the cape sighed deeply, as he grabbed a small square device from his belt and brought it to his mouth. "Orion calling base, come in."

"Base here, go head," a female voice spoke over the device.

"Ogremon has been dealt with."

"Understood. Yamaki is very pleased with your work Orion."

He smiled slightly,"I won't rest until every Digimon has been vanished from the face of the Earth!"

Genesis

Part 1:

"...and you're out! I win again Takato!"

All the color drained from fifteen-year- old Takato's face as he stared, mouth open, at the cards in front of him. "B..b..but how did you beat me? I had you, Kazu!"

"No, you didn't," Kazu smiled,"You should have finished me off with your last turn, but you didn't use your strongest card-and I know you have it in your deck-thus, you left me open for a hard come back! You can't beat me!"

Takato sighed as he grabbed his cards,"How about one more game, a quick one?"

Suddenly, they heard a bell sound through the small room they were in. "That's the bell, guys," Kenta said, jumping out of the elephant in the playground,"Come on!"

"Coming," Kazu said, quickly shoving his cards into his box and gently throwing it into the corner. He jumped off of the small platform and ran off with Kenta.

"Thanks for waiting guys!" Takato cried out as he placed his cards in his box. As he started to climb out, his foot accidentally hit the box, sending his cards all over the small platform.

"Oh man!" he said, starting to gather his cards up again. As he did, his hands grazed across a card he had never seen before, a bright blue card. "What the?" he asked, holding it up,"I wonder what this does...?"

He slid the card through his card reader. He watched with interest as the small screen began to display letters across it. Suddenly the card reader sent a current of electricity across the front and the letters vanished.

"Oh great!" Takato cried, hitting his hand against the side,"Oh man, it shorted out."

He heard another bell. "Crud, that was the late bell!" He quickly shoved everything back into his box and placed it next to Kazu's.

"I'm really late now!" he yelled, running across the playground,"Late, late, late!"

He threw open the school doors and charged down the halls. When he reached his class room, he peeked through the window. He saw his teacher writing on the black board. He quietly opened the door and started to sneak inside.

"You're late."

He flinched and slowly looked up. His teacher was staring down at him, arms crossed. "Ah, listen, I can explain, Mr. Kamiya."

"Well?"

"Oh," Takato said, placing his hand behind his head,"Well, you see...ah...there was this...um...a giant...no, that won't work...I saw this...um..."

"That's what I thought," his teacher said, nodding,"I will see you in detention this afternoon. Take your seat."

Takato sighed and slowly made his way to his seat. He plopped down and rested his head on his hand. His teacher sat down at his desk and started to take roll. "Okay, I just want to remind those of you that haven't handed in your permission slips for the field trip tomorrow, you still have until I actually board the bus to give it to me. Once I am on the bus and seated, I will not be taking any more slips. Meaning you get to spend the day in the prinicple's office listening to his war stories," he shivered slightly and shook his head,"It is not an experience I would wish on any one, so please bring in your permission slips. Now, please open your notebooks and copy down what I have written on the board."

All of the kids opened their notebooks and started to copy the writing on the board. Takato, however, grabbed a smaller notebook which he hid inside his larger one, which was filled was his drawings. He took out a red pencil and started to color in a drawing of a large dinosaur. "This guy is going to be so cool! I think I'll call him...Guilmon!"

He became aware of a presence looking over his shoulder. He turned and came face to face with a strange dog.

"Ah!" he yelled, falling over backwards in his seat.

"Is there a problem, Takato?"

"No, no, Mr. Kamiya," Takato said, jumping back into his seat,"I. ah, just fell out of my chair."

"See that you don't do it again," his teacher said, going back to grading papers.

Takato sighed, then turned. "Sorry, Takato," the girl sitting next to him said,"I didn't mean to scare you."

"That's okay, Jeri," Takato whispered,"Just don't do that again."

The girl sitting in front of Jeri turned around to look at the two of them. "Shh!"

"Sorry, Miki," Jeri said, going back to writing in her notebook.

Takato stared at Jeri for a second longer, feeling his cheeks start to burn red, then started to write in his notebook as well.

Takato bowed at the doorway. "I'm sorry that I caused you trouble today. Mr. Kamiya. Please forgive me." He shut the door and ran back down the hall. "I hope my card reader is okay. I was so worried about it today, it was on my mind all day long!"

He ran outside and over to the elephant. He jumped up onto the small platform that they played cards on. "Guys, I've got the next game...guys?" The small room inside the structure was empty. He let out a sigh,"I really didn't expect you guys to wait for me. Oh well."

He grabbed his box and opened the lid. His card reader was now glowing brightly. When he grabbed it, it started to shift, changing into something completely different. "T..This is too weird," he gasped, staring at the circular device in his hands. "I...I..."

He heard a thunder bolt crash outside.

"I've got to get home!" he said, throwing the new device in the box along with his cards and ran from the playground.

"""""""""""""""""""

The young woman's back instantly tensed up as she heard the familiar clicking sound. She quickly closed the solitaire game she was playing and opened her filing program. She started to type in names and dates when she saw her boss walk into the office. "Good afternoon sir, how did it go?"

Her boss sighed as he click the top of his lighter up and down. "Ours was the last case of the day, so that lazy judge made a hasty decision."

"Really, what did he say?"

"He ordered that if I cancel one more time, I will lose all visitation."

"Well, I have tried to keep you from canceling, but you don't listen to me."

"My daughter really does not like what I am doing, Onodera!" he barked.

She flinched slightly. "Is she really into the Digimon game, sir?"

"Yes, but she believes that invading Digimon must be stopped, but Digimon that are just curious about Earth shouldn't be harmed." He chuckled slightly,"They're all dangerous!"

He sighed and walked into his office. "Anything special on the agenda today, Recorder?"

"No," she said,"but you have that five o'clock appointment with the committee members of Tokonawa Electronics. They wish to sponsor us, but they would like an update. The chiefs of staff will meet you there."

Her employer frowned. "I hate those meetings."

"And there is a class trip coming tomorrow."

He nodded. "You've established the tour that will take them through the unclassified sections of our 'company'?"

"Of course sir, they won't know anything about the bounty hunter aspect of our organization."

He smiled slightly,"I know I can count on you." He started to walk out of his office,"If there is nothing else to do tonight, I will see you tomorrow, good night, Recorder."

"""""""""""""""""""""

"Sorry I'm late!" Takato yelled as he threw off his shoes and charged inside,"I had de, um, I'm sorry I'm late."

He ran into the kitchen past two people washing dishes. "I'll be upstairs if anyone needs me."

"Takato!" the woman cried,"Thanks a lot..."

"What's wrong?" the man asked.

"Oh, some kids actually give their mothers a hug when they come home. Besides, he was suppose to help clean up the bakery earlier."

Takato threw open his door and slammed it shut. He tossed his book bag onto his bed and ran over to his desk. He reached inside of his card box and pulled out the mysterious device that had been created from his card reader. It was a round object, with a plastic face, and two thin slots down the sides. It was connected to a strap of fabric with a clip on the end.

He examined it frontwards and backwards, upwards and downwards, until a thin smile formed over his face. He could hardly contain his excitement as a thought entered his mind. "Is...Is this a...this is a Digivice! Which means...I'm a Digidestined! This is so cool!"

He held the device tightly in his palm as he hit the large button on the right. The image on the screen shifted to the next screen. "Hmm," Takato said, pressing the button again. The screen moved once more, but, still, nothing appeared on the screen. "Where is my Digimon partner?"

He felt his excitement slowly fade away. "W..where is my Digimon?" His smile turned around and he fell onto his bed. "It figures that my Digimon wouldn't show up at all."

"Takato!" he heard his mother shout,"Dinner!"

He sighed,"I'm coming!"

"""""""""""""""""""""""""

Tai swung the door open and stumbled inside, papers falling out of the pile under his arms. He hooked the door with his foot and slammed it shut. He gripped tightly to his suitcase in his hand while trying to keep the papers under his arm from falling. He walked very slowly into the apartment, trying to keep his balance, when his foot stepped on something round and his legs flew up. He landed hard on his back and saw an orange ball roll past his head. He sighed deeply. "Gatomon!" he cried out.

A second later a white cat with a long thin tail ran over to him. "Tai, are you okay?"

"I tripped over your ball," he said, getting up,"_again_!"

She lowered her head. "Sorry, but we get bored you know..."

"At least you can _go_ outside," Agumon said, walking into the small hallway,"I'm stuck here all day."

Tai slowly got to his feet and dusted himself.off. "I'm sorry about that Agumon, we haven't done much lately, have we? We'll see a movie or something, alright?"

"Sure," Agumon said, walking into the kitchen, "thanks."

Tai stumbled into the kitchen and fell into his seat. "Agumon, what are you cooking?" he asked, sniffing the air.

"An Italian dish called..."

"Tai, come in here and look at this!" Gatomon cried.

Tai jumped up from his seat and into the living room, where Gatomon was watching the television set. "What is it?"

"Look," she said, pointing at the screen.

Tai watched an image of a burning building, with a group of odd beings running from the police force. Hundreds of injured people were outside, coughing and breathing through air masks, while wrapping themselves in burn blankets. "...and these images are from a recent attack on an apartment building by a group of so-called Digimon Gangsters. This marks the latest in a long line of attacks on residential areas by these gangs. The government allowed 'Digital Bounty-hunters' have been on the track of these gangs, but they don't seem to be getting any closer to the main bosses. This is Mia Kounicho, signing off."

"Tai," Gatomon said, turning to him,"We've got to do something about this! They're hurting innocent people."

Tai sighed. "I'm not a fighter anymore, I'm just a mild-manner school teacher, its not my problem anymore."

"But, Tai.."

"This is the end of the discussion!"

""""""""""""""""""""""""""

The figure wrapped his trench coat tighter around his body as he pulled the rim of his hat farther down as he passed by a young couple walking down the sidewalk. They were so lost in one another, that they didn't even notice him. He smiled to himself as he turned the corner and enter a dark alley. He walked past a few rows of trash bags and dumpster to a door hidden in the shadows. He knocked twice and a thin slot opened on the door."Who's there?"

"The password is 010100111000."

The slot closed and the door creaked open. Once the figure was inside he pulled off his hat and trench coat, letting giant black wings spread open. "That's much better. Hey," he asked looking around at the barren bar, then at the empty pool tables and computer terminals resting on tables in a corner of the room,"Where is everybody?"

The figure behind the door, a floating white ghost mentioned to a set of stairs to the right of the bar counter,"He is waiting upstairs for you."

"Who?"

"You know.."

His eyes opened wide, and his skin would have paled, if it wasn't already. He took a deep breath and walked up the stairs.

At the top was a metal door. He knocked and the door opened. He took another deep breath and walked into the office. "Yes, sir?" he asked the figure seated in the large red chair behind the desk.

"Ah," the figure said, flipping through a portfolio that was on the desk,"Ice Devimon, Ultimate level, very proficent with ice attacks. Well, duh!"

"Y...you wanted to see me, Master Digidestined?"

"Yes," the figure said, leaning forward on the desk,"I have called you here because you are one of the premier assassins in the city. There is a job I want you to accomplish."

"W..What is my target?"

The figure flicked a thin photo off the desk that landed at Ice Devimon's feet. He picked it up and stared at the photo,"This female looks cute, in a _human_ sort of way.."

The human male growled at him. "She has something that I want, bring her here for questioning, but _do not_ kill her, understand?"

Ice Devimon nodded. "Right, I understand, my Master."

""""""""""""""""""""""""

The light of the stars and moon slowly started to fade as a thick fog descended around the park. The people ran away from this strange phenomenon, not that there were that many people inside the park in the very late hours of the night anyway. It was way past midnight, many people were at home, asleep. Takato certainly should have been, so what was he doing there?

He tried to tell himself that it was just a dream, after all, he was floating in the air, but he felt the rain dropping against his skin, his pajamas were starting to get wet, and he felt the wind whip against his skin. What was going on?

As he was suspended in the air, he turned his gaze downward, and focused on a large blue dinosaur. "_Is that my Digimon partner?"_ he asked himself,"_He does look really cool."_

He became aware of two other presences. Looking to the right, he saw a red-headed girl about his age wearing sunglasses and a trench coat. She grabbed a deck of cards and started to twirl them through her fingers.

"_Wow,"_ Takato thought,"_She's one of those Digimon Tamers, a real one! Wait, her Digivice is the same as mine! I'm a Digimon Tamer!"_

He couldn't pull his eyes away as the girl held up her Digivice. "Hmm," she said,"Allomon, armored Digimon. Doesn't seem so tough."

"Do you want to bet?" the Digimon laughed,"I'm going to crush all opponents!"

"Whatever," the girl said, walking to the side, to reveal another Digimon, a yellow fox walking on two feet. "Walk all over him Renamon."

"As you command, Rika," the fox said, jumping into the air.

_"Rika...Renamon..."_ Takato said to himself.

Renamon jumped into the air and crossed her arms. "Diamond Storm!" she shouted, firing a barrage of light objects at Allomon. He winced in pain, but was none the worse for wear. Allomon screamed out a bellowing roar, then slashed down with his claws, ripping into Renamon.

She let out a moan as she slammed onto her back. Allomon jumped over her and pressed all his weight onto her, crushing her into the pavement. The fox Digimon hissed in pain as she squeezed her arms into Allomon's calf, trying to crush it.

Rika sighed and grabbed one of her cards. With simple ease she maneuvered them through her fingers, then slid it through her Digivice. "Digi-modify: Speed Activate!"

_"That's what those slots are for,"_ Takato thought as he watched the battle.

Renamon smirked at Allowmon, then disappeared. Allomon started to swing his head around. "Where are you, coward?"

"I am not a coward, and I am closer than you think."

Allomon shot his head up and saw Renamon's foot slam between his eyes. He started to fall over as the fox Digimon fired her Diamond Storm, ripping Allomon apart. Renamon gracefully landed on the ground as Allomon's information merged with her body.

"Not bad, Renamon," Rika said,"But, next time you'll win without my help."

"Yes, Rika," Renamon said.

"""""""""""""""""""

"...and then I woke up."

Kenta was leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes as slithers. "And you're trying to tell me that this really happened?"

"Yes," Takato said,"My sheets were even wet!"

Kazu started laughing. "And what are you chuckling about?" Takato asked, turning his head.

"You had a dream about a girl, and you woke up in a wet bed! I bet I know what happened!"

The two of them started laughing, while Takato's face turn bright red while he was trying to keep his temper under control. _"That_ did not happen!"

"Sure," Kenta said, leaning back against the wall,"Did you two bring your cards? I hear it's a pretty long ride."

"Where are we going again?"

"Some kind of computer company or something," Kenta said unimpressed.

"I heard they're a research team," Kazu said, his eyes lighting up," Maybe even some weird inventions or something!"

"There's the bell," Kenta said, mentioning to the ringing sound that was heard across the playground don't want to be late."

Kazu and Kenta jumped off of the same platform, followed by Takato. As he reached his hand into his pocket, he felt his strange Digivice. _"...and still no Digimon. Maybe I'm not supposed to have this after all."_

""""""""""""""""""

Takato sighed to himself as he filed in with his other classmates as they walked through the doorway. "Make sure you stay together!" he heard Tai call out,"I don't want anyone getting lost!"

"Why does he keep saying that?" Kazu whispered into Takato's ear.

"I don't know," Takato said, a smile crossing his face,"Let's just ignore him and look at all this cool stuff!"

Kazu laughed slightly at the thought of ditching Tai and running around by themselves, then his smile broadened as the class entered an extremely large room filled with all sorts of scientific wonders. The floor space was gigantic, and there were rows of catwalks above their heads. There was a large cylinder shaped object in the far corner of the room, emitting a faint blue glow, on the right corner there was a sort of laser gun attached to the bottom of one of the catwalks, and in the center of the room were two cylinder shaped towers with yellow globes on the top of them. There were dozens of people in white lab coats walking around, and even more on computer terminals beside the large equipment.

"This is cool, isn't it, Takato?"

Takato blushed slightly as he heard Jeri's voice. "Yeah, I know."

"You guys are hopeless."

Jeri turned to her best friend, "What's wrong Miki? You don't sound interested at all."

Miki turned away slightly and ran a hand threw her light brown-bluish hair. "My father works in a place like this."

"Your parents are divorced, right?" Kazu asked.

Miki nodded,"I don't see my father that much, which is just fine for me. He is the biggest creep in the world!"

"Excuse me," Tai called to them,"Do you want to be left behind?"

The four kids looked up and saw that the rest of the class had traveled across the room over to the laser gun object. They quickly joined the rest of their class that was surrounding the area around a computer terminal next to the gun. A man with glasses was talking to them.

"...so, I am Dr. Yazuna welcome to Electrical Development. This device behind me is called an Electronic Computerized Virtual Reality Recombinator, or the E-CAR, for short. What we are trying to do with this is hopefully allow a virtual reality projection to be projected into 'real' space, as opposed to inside a computer. It is different than a normal projection, as it will appear to be 'real'. You can tell when something is projected, something like a slide show, right?"

The kids nodded.

"Well, this will appear so real, they you won't be able to tell the difference."

The kids all 'awed' and gasped. Behind them, Tai crossed his arms and leaned against a metal support beam for the ceiling. "_If they only knew.."_he thought.

"Now," Yazuna said, typing something into the computer keyboard,"See that picture on that larger screen?"

The children turned their attention to a large monitor screen attached to the right wall. There was an image of an apple on the screen. Dr. Yazuna continued,"I am going to try to project an image of that apple onto that table directly under the E-CAR."

He typed into the keyboard, and the E-CAR started to hum as it came to life. "This is so cool!" Takato whispered into Jeri's ear.

The device moved until it pointed towards the table directly beneath it."Now," Yazuna said, with a tone of excitment,"I hope this works." He pressed the enter button.

Almost instantly, a beam of light shot from the tip of the gun to the table below. An image of the apple slowly began to appear. "Almost there," Yazuna said with a smile.

Suddenly, the E-CAR began to sound like gears were grinding together. Dr. Yazuna was at the keyboard in a second, typing away. "It..It's not responding," he said to himself.

The E-CAR swung upward, with the beam of light still shooting from it tips. The kids dove out of the way, but Takato didn't move in time. The beam of light zapped into his chest, sending him into the ground. As the world turned dark around him, the last thing he heard was Jeri shout his name out. "TAKATO!"

_To be continued..._

Well, what do you guys think so far? I know it's starting out slow, but we'll see some action in the next chapter. Hope you read it.


	2. Genesis: Chapter 2

**December 4, 2015**

Genesis

Chapter 2

"Takato!" Jeri shrieked as she ran into the hospital room,"Takato are you okay?"

Takato looked up from his hospital bed, and smiled broadly. "Jeri, I'm so glad you're here!"

"Really?" she asked, sitting down in the chair next to him.

Takato suddenly started to blush fiercely. "I...ah...that is..."

Jeri chuckled lightly. She was about to say something, when two other figures walked into the room,"I brought some people with me."

"Hi Mom, hey Dad," Takato said as his parents walked in.

"Takato!" his mother said, wrapping her hands around him,"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I...ah..."

"Don't worry," he said,"I'm okay, really. The doctors said that I just really got a bad case of static shock."

"But isn't lightning static shock?" Jeri asked without thinking.

"You were struck by lightning?" his mother shrieked.

"No..no..." Takato said, trying to get control of the conversation,"It was a..."

"Where is your teacher?" Takato's father asked.

Jeri spoke up. "After Mr. Kamiya brought Takato here, he said something about 'needing to talk to the principal,' and left."

"Mr. Kamiya was the one that brought Takato here?" his father asked.

"He carried him here,"Jeri said, nodding.

"Why?" Takato asked.

"I don't think we'll be suing him then," Mrs. Matsuki muttered.

"What?" Takato asked.

"We'll call Mr. Kamiya later," Takato's father said grabbing his wife's shoulders,"I think we should let Takato rest."

"But..but..." she tried to say as she was lead out of the room.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Takato's father said as he left.

"I'd better be going, too," Jeri said, getting up,"I'll try to visit you tomorrow, okay."

"Alright," he said, sadly,"Good bye." He fell back onto his pillow. _"I wonder if she likes me?"_ he thought.

""""""""""""""""""""""""""

"Ah, it's about time, Yamaki!"

"I'm sorry I am late, sir," the man with the dark sun glassess, walking into the conference room,"There was a slight problem at base. There was a school field trip viewing the public front of our operation. He was injured when an experimental imaging laser attacked him."

One of the men seated around the conference table asked,"Good Heavens, Yamaki! Is the child alight?"

"Yes sir," he said, taking out his cigarette lighter,"luckily the doctors said it was only a severe case of static shock. He will be out of the hospital tomorrow."

"Do you have your lawyers ready?" a woman seated at the table asked.

"Recorder-that is, Ms. Tailly, is already working on it. We are considering using this as a write off."

"Will the boy's parents go along with that?"

Yamaki smiled slightly. "It's probably more money then they've ever had at one time. " He looked at his watch,"But, let's not waste any more time on my problems."

The man wearing a military uniform stood up,"Yes, good, good. " He pointed to an older man wearing a business suit,"This is the President of Tokonawa Electronics, Mr. Hakado."

"How do you do, sir?" Yamaki asked, bowing.

"Mr. Yamaki," Hakado asked," My company is extremely interested in funding your 'Digimon Bounty Hunters'. Could you give me some background information?"

"Of course sir," Yamaki said,"These invaders, called Digimon, come from a place called 'The Digital World." We are not sure how this world came to be, however, we believe that a group of programmers created them twenty-seven years ago, in a project to create artificial life.."

"Ah, yes," Hakado said,"I do remember the Project of 1987, very interesting results, too interesting..."

"Sir?" Yamaki asked.

"Those of us that were funding that Project became fearful of the ramifications of artificial life, so we cut the funding." He smiled slightly,"The bases of that project was very successful as a children's toy."

"Yes," Yamaki said,"But, it seems you cut your funding too late. While you destroyed all programs except the most basic ones that were later used to create the Digimon video and card games, some of the artifical intelligence programs obviously survived. It somehow mutated and gained sentience, becoming alive, at least on the Web, or, as the Digimon call it, The Digital World."

Yamaki paused to take a quick breath, then continued,"Now, I'm sure you all remember the invasion of Tokyo fifteen years ago by a Digimon Invader?"

"Yes," one of the women said,"It was horrible. I was one of the older children taken prisoner by that vampire."

"His name was Myotismon," Yamaki continued,"and he was defeated by a group of children calling themselves the Digidestined. After defeating Myotismon, they journeyed to the Digital World and faced Apocalymon in the skies over Tokyo. The government officials then started to research this Digital World. We tried to talk to the Digidestined once they returned, but we could never find them. Then, four years later, Digimon started to invade all across the country. The mysterious Digidestined reappeared and brought the Digimon back to the Digital World. The rulers of the various nations then received mysterious e-mails telling them that the gate between both worlds had been sealed again. Now, it appears that seal is weakening."

He walked closer to the table,"In order to combat these invaders, the government has sanctioned the use of Digital Bounty Hunters, whose job it is to find the Digimon invaders, and destroy them. My organization, Hypnos, operates as a government for the various bounty hunters. I, in my Lord Sentry guise, and the supreme commander of all Digimon Bounty Hunters in Tokyo. "

"Does your organization simply hunt Digimon?" Hakado asked.

"We also do research into these Digimon, trying to find out why they are here, and, more importantly, how they form into real beings on Earth."

Hakado nodded. "What about these humans that are partnered with Digimon? They too battle invaders, do they not?"

"The Digidestined have not been seen since the Digital Invasion nineteen years ago, but, new human/Digimon partners have appeared, they call themselves Digimon Tamers. We have yet to discern their motives, or their powers."

Hakado nodded. "This...Hypnos organization, how do you operate?"

"Well, sir," Yamaki said,"our command center is operated by two technicians, Ms. Tailey, whom we call Recorder, who operates as just that, and Ms. Ootori, called Tracker. She is my second-in-command. Between the two of them, they alert me to the presence of a Digimon that has broken through, or 'emerge''. We call these Wild One. After a wild one has Emerged, the Hunters are alerted."

"Now, tell me about the Hunters."

"My chief commander is a man called Orion. He has been outfitted with cybernetic implants that give him enhanced strength, speed, and stamina, as well as the ability to fly. The hunters use a variety of weapons including projectiles, and up close fighting, such as swords and knives."

Hakado nodded. "Are you working on any projects currently to aid you?"

"I am working on a project code-named Juggernaut. My apologies, but it is classified."

Hakado nodded. "Right, well, I must say, I am pleased with what you have told me. I will think it over, and get back to you tomorrow with my answer."

"Thank you sir," Yamaki bowed.

""""""""""""""""""

Tai smiled to himself as Gatomon jump on top of Agumon's head so she could reach the top of the tree. "There," she said, placing the star,"That's beautiful!"

"I must agree," Agumon laughed slightly as Gatomon jumped down and landed gracefully beside him,"What do you think, Tai?"

Tai pulled away from the computer screen to look at the sparkling green tree seated in the corner of the small apartment living room. "It's a perfect Christmas Tree," he said,"Now, why don't you put up the stockings?"

"We know Tai," Gatomon said, walking over to a large brown box that was resting on the couch,"We've been doing this for fifteen years now." She extended one of her claws, then cut the brown masking tape that was sealing the lid of the cardboard box. She pulled the flaps away and reached inside to grab the first stocking she saw. When she did, she gasped.

"What's wrong?" Tai asked, as he and Agumon ran over to her. When they saw the stocking in Gatomon's hand, Tai sighed, and Agumon's face dropped. "Oh, i-it's Kari's."

Gatomon sniffled, hugging it close to her,"I really miss her so much."

"So do I," Tai said, lightly rubbing his hand on Gatomon's head,"But, we've got to move on, I know she wouldn't want us being depressed over her all the time."

"Tai's right," Agumon said,"Kari was the happiest person or Digimon that I knew, she'd want us to be happy too."

"I know," Gatomon said, whipping away a tear from her eye,"I know."

Tai heard a noise from his computer. "Someone's sending me a message," he said, walking back over to it.

"I thought you were working on your lesson plan for the New Year," Agumon said.

"I've got a couple weeks yet," he said, sitting back in his chair,"Besides, I can wing it if I need to."

Agumon just shook his head and went back to decorating the house. Tai moved his mouse so he could see his chat room dialogue box. He smiled when he saw who it was. He started to type a message, "_Hi, Kasumi._"

A second later a response came,"_Hi, Daddy, how are you?_"

Tai typed,"_I'm doing fine, and you?_"

_"Just great."_

_"How is your mother?"_

_"She's got the flu, but she still won't rest."_

_"That's the girl I remember."_

_"Hey, Daddy, listen, I want to talk to you about something."_

_"You can tell me anything."_

_"Okay...Dad, I received a Digimon last week."_

Tai felt his heart stop when he read the message. His fingers were shaking when he typed his response,_"You're kidding, right?"_

_"No, Dad, I'm a Digidestined, like you and Mom and..."_

_"Oh, Kasumi, I..."_ Tai wasn't sure what esle to write, so he sent that message.

"_Dad,"_ the message sent back,_"I...I'm not sure what to do. My Digimon is an Agumon like yours, only she's a girl. I want to be able to help save people from the bad Digimon that are crossing over like those Tamers do, but I don't know how."_

_"Kasumi, I don't want you to fight, understand? It's too dangerous, I don't want you to end up like your Aunt Kari!"_

There was a long pause before Kasumi's response came,_"Dad, Mom says that if you train me, I can stay with you for a while, like maybe a year or two..."_

Tai's face lit. _"Really?" _

_"Really."_

He was typing so fast that his finger brushed up against other keys, making him correct his message before he sent it. _"I haven't seen you since last Christmas. I'm against having you fight, but I really want to see you again. I'll help train you, but, you can appeal your case to me about fighting when you get here._"

The response came back,_"YES! I'll see you in a couple of weeks. Bye Daddy, I love you."_

_"Good bye, Kasumi."_ Tai leaned back in his seat, a giant smile on his face.

"What just happened?" Agumon asked,"I have seen you this happy in a long time."

"Kasumi's coming to stay with us," he said,"I can't wait for her to see Japan again." He thought for a couple of seconds, then jumped up and ran to the door.

"Where are you going?" Agumon asked.

"I'm just going to see if I can get a stocking for Kasumi," he said, grabbing his jacket,"I'll be bag in a little bit. See ya."

"Man," Agumon said after Tai left,"I don't think I've ever seen him that happy."

"There are only a few people left on earth that he deeply cares for," Gatomon said, jumping onto the back of the couch,"And Kasumi is one of them."

""""""""""""""

Takato's eyes slowly started to rise. "What the?" he asked, looking around,"Where is that beeping noise coming from?"

He sat up and started looking around. He grabbed his new Digivice and looked at it. He held the device tightly in his palm as he hit the large button on the right. The image on the screen shifted to the next screen to show a broken egg. "Hey, I...I had a Digimon! But...what happened?"

Suddenly an image flashed across his mind. He remembered when the E-CAR zapped him, more specifically, zapped his pocket, containing his Digivice and...

"My notebook!" Takato said, jumping off of his bed and running over to the chair where his normal clothes were lying,"I can't believe that I forgot about it!" He started fishing through his pocket, then grabbed his notebook, or what was left of it. Takato was in complete disbelief as he opened it. "All...all my pictures and plans for Guilmon are gone. I wonder if...?"

He ran back over to his Digivice and lifted it up."My Digi-egg has hatched, which means my Digimon, whatever it is, is somewhere...inside my Digivice? That doesn't make any sense."

His Digivice suddenly created a holographic circle above the screen, with a small triangle pointing to the right of the room. "What is this?" he asked, moving the Digivice, but the triangle continued to point towards the right of the room. "Is this a compass, or some sort of tracking device?"

He ran over to the right of the room, but found nothing out of the ordinary. "Well, this stupid thing was a waste!"

Suddenly, Takato heard a loud noise from above him. "What the heck was that?" he asked. His Digivice started beeping even louder. Takato looked at it, then back at the ceiling. "I wonder if...?" He hesitated for a second, then ran to the door. He opened it and peeked outside. When he was certain that no one was there, he ran over to the stairs and ran up to the roof.

""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Riley sighed as her chair swung around in the air. She leaned forward on her control console and pulled her goggles over her forehead. "Is this sad or what?" she said, rubbing her eyes.

"What?" Tally asked, from her raised chair.

"It's Friday night, and we are two good looking young women stuck here without a date. Do you know how many dates I had to turn down?"

Tally sighed. "At least you're getting calls."

Riley smiled slightly. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I wasn't interested in any of them."

"Why?" Tally asked,"Were they all bums?"

"No," Riley sighed with her eyes close,"There is really only one guy that I have my eyes on."

"Who?"

"Oh no," she said, pulling the goggles back over her eyes,"You're not going to get _that_ out of me." Her laughter faded when a loud beeping sounded through the dome shaped room.

"We've got a Digimon sighting, at Nagano Station," Tally said,"It isn't a Wild One though, there has been no emerge detected."

"I am alerting Orion now," Riley said, pressing a sequence of buttons on her console, "Orion, this is Tracker calling. We have a confirmed Digimon sighting at Nagano Station."

"I am on my way, Tracker," Orion responded over the loudspeaker,"I will be there shortly."

"""""""""""""""""

Takato slowly opened the door to the roof and peeked outside. He took a deep breath and walked outside, making sure to prop the door open with a rusted coffee can he found nearby. He checked his Digivice compass and found that the diamond was larger"Whatever this thing wants me to find must be up here." He held up his compass and found that the diamond was pointing to a large metal building in the center. "It's got to be behind that thing. Okay..." He took a deep breath and walked around the building.

He saw a large amount of white smoke billowing out of a small crater near a few satellite dishes and electrical machines connected to the power and telephone lines. That wasn't what was causing him to gasp though, it was the red blob-like creature sitting inside of the small crater moving like an amoeba around the roof.

"What is that!" Takato gasped, moving closer. His Digivice was giving off a glow from its screen, so he held it out in front of him to get a better look at the red glob. Suddenly, the blob started to slid towards Takato, as if it was drawn to him. He ran as quickly as he could, but the blob shot a part of itself out and wrapped around Takato's leg, throwing him to the ground.

Takato turned around, trying to kick the red stuff off, but it quickly ran up his legs towards his waist. He reached his free hand out to grab a part of something to pull himself free, but the glob was already at his neck. He finally was able to scream, seconds before the glob covered his head. His hand was still in the air, trying to grab onto something, but the red glob ran up his hand, overtaking it. Takato's open hand slowly relaxed as it was covered. The red glob stayed still for a few seconds, before it suddenly exploded apart, freeing Takato.

He was on his hands and knees, breathing very heavily. "W..what happened?" he asked, when he noticed that his Digivice was glowing even brighter.

A woman's voice sounded over the Digivice,"Item acquired: D-Arc. Item acquired: Digi-modify cards...Digimon acquired: Guilmon."

Takato stared at the red dinosaur standing in front of him. "I don't believe it!" Takato shouted,"Is that..Guilmon?"

The dinosaur creature's eyes were slits as he stared at the red glob as it re-formed itself. The middle part suddenly shot towards Guilmon and Takato. "We're gonna die again!" Takato shouted.

The red dinosaur creature open his mouth,"Pyro Sphere!"

A ball of red fire shot from his mouth and into the red glob. It almost sounded like it was screaming before it disappeared in a burst of smoke.

"I..It's gone?" Takato asked.

The creature turned its head and looked at Takato. It made a strange noise, then started charging at him. Takato jumped into the air. "Ohnoohnoohnoohnoohno!" he shouted,"It's going to eat me! It's going to eat me!" He dropped onto the ground and shut his eyes, waiting for the end. However it never came. After a few minutes, he wanted to know why he wasn't being digested by now, so he opened his eyes, and saw the creature's face directly in front of his.

"Ah!" he shouted, jumping back.

The creature smiled. "You are you?" it asked.

"I..I...I'm Takato."

"Takato," it said,"I...I am..." It's smile faded,"Takato, do you know who I am?"

Takato was trying to get control of his breathing,"I.I..I think you're Guilmon, and I think I created you."

Guilmon looked confused,"'Created me?"

Takato took a deep breath, and got control of himself. "Yeah, you see, I found this strange blue card in my card box and when I ran it through my card reader it changed into this Digivice. Then, when I was at a field trip earlier today, this strange machine zapped me, and I think my drawings of you somehow fused with the Digivice and...you have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Guilmon looked at him and just smiled.

Takato sighed."At least you're not trying to eat me," he mumbled.

""""""""""""""""""""

"Damn it!" Tai shouted, as he watched the subway car zoom by him,"Damn it! Now I've got to wait for the next one! Damn it!"

He sighed. "Oh well," he said to himself,"I don't mind, I'm in too much of a good mood. My daughter's coming to stay with me!" He smiled as he stepped back from the edge of the platform.

As people began to assemble on the platform, his mind began to wander. _"I wonder how Kasumi is, I haven't seen her in such a long time. I can't wait for her to tell me all about America. I wonder if she even looks the same..."_ His mind was so lost in thought, that he didn't notice his Digivice, which he always kept on his belt, had started to beep softly.

He did, however, notice that the other people were started to scream. He quickly snapped to attention. He quickly turned his head to where the people were running from. His mouth dropped when he saw a familiar winged creature hovering down the tunnel. "D-Devimon?" he asked,"No, he's white, that can't be Devimon..."

The Devimon creature shouted. "Attention people, my name is Ice Devimon. I have come here to apprehended a girl named Alice...Alice...you know what? I believe I have forgotten her last name."

Tai took a few steps back on the platform as the crowd ran around him. Ice Devimon gripped his claws tightly. "Shut up!" he screamed,"I can't hear myself think!"

The crowd ignored him and continued to run away screaming and shouting as loud as they could. Ice Devimon screamed, then slashed his fist down, blasting a section of the platform with a thick icicle. He started to rub his head when the crowd started to flee from him even faster. "You're not very good at this, are you?" Tai asked.

"Actually, it's my first time here on Earth," Ice Devimon said, slowly shaking his head,"and it is definitely going to be my last time. Well, since you are the only person that hasn't run away screaming, you've got to know where Alice is."

"I don't know any Alice," Tai said,"But if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

Ice Devimon crossed his arms as he hovered in the air. "You look vaguely familiar."

"I'm sorry," Tai said,"I don't think we've ever met."

"No, we've never met," Ice Devimon said,"but, I think I've seen your picture some where before..." He turned his head and started to rub his chin,"I'm very sure that..." he dropped his arm.

Tai turned his head to where Ice Devimon was looking. He saw a girl, about fourteen, with long blond hair wearing a strange black dress charge up the steps to the street. Ice Devimon grinned. "_That_ is Alice! If you excuse me..." He started to fly towards the girl.

Tai took a step forward, then stepped back._"I'm not a fighter any more,"_ he thought,"_But he wants that girl for some reason, but it could be for a good reason? He's a Devimon, he's got to be evil. Not really...you saw his eyes, you know whatever he wants her for, it isn't good. I don't even have either of my Digimon with me, I can't do anything._ He started walking away, then stopped. _"Oh, who am I kidding?"_ He turned around and saw Ice Devimon floating towards the stairs. Tai grabbed a suitcase that someone had dropped while running from the subway station. He took a deep breath, then threw the piece of luggage as hard as he could, slamming Ice Devimon in the back of the head.

He shouted out in pain, then spun around, glaring at Tai. He turned back around and saw that Alice had run up the stairs and disappeared. He slowly turned around, hate glaring in his eyes. "How dare you!"

"Do you honestly think I was going to let you hurt her?" Tai asked.

Ice Devimon shot forward and pounded Tai with the back of his hand, sending him crashing into a stack of boxes leaning against the far wall. Tai felt unconsciousness starting to fall on him, but he shook it off. He climbed to his feet, but Ice Devimon pounded him back into the ground. Tai felt blood pouring from his nose, and his eye starting to swell over. "Because of you, Alice escaped, and now I've got to spend more time in this human filth-ridden city! Do you have any idea how hard it was to track her down the first time? She's going to be on guard now! And it's all your fault!" Tai started to get up, but Ice Devimon slashed with his claws, ripping his shirt and his chest. Ice Devimon took a deep breath, then flew off. Tai slowly raised his hand, but it fell back onto the ground.

"""""""""""""""

"Shh!" Takato whispered fiercely as he shoved the cardboard box over his Digimon,"You've got to be quiet!"

"But why?" his Digimon asked, his eyes peeking out from the small handle opening.

"Because we're in the park," Takato said,"And some people are afraid of Digimon, you know."

"Why are they afraid of me?" he asked from underneath the box.

"I'll explain later," Takato said, stopping short,"Now be quiet, someone's coming!"

Guilmon's eyes stared out of the opening and looked around the lush green trees, and wide open sky. "This place is so beautiful. I've never seen any place like this before." He started to get up.

"Guilmon!" Takato shouted as he leaned on the box to press Guilmon back to his knees,"I told you to stay hidden! You've got to listen to me. We're in a place with alot of people, that might..."

"Hi, Takato."

Takato's face turned bright red as he spun around and saw two girls staring at him from the behind the swing set. They walked towards him. "Uh, hi Jeri, hi Miki."

Jeri smiled broadly at him. "Hi, Takato."

Miki nodded slightly. "What's in the box, Takato?"

"Uh, nothing!" he said quickly,"Just a...surprise."

"A surprise for who?" Jeri asked, innocently.

"Um...nobody, heh," he said with a slight laugh,"You know, just a surprise."

"Come on," Miki said,"Is it for one of us?"

"N-no..."

Miki put her finger to his chin,"Hmm, now let's see, you're one of my friends, but I know you wouldn't go to such great lengths to hide a present for me, so then it has to be for Jeri, am I right?"

_"If only!"_ Takato thought. "No!" he said outloud,"it's...it's not!"

Jeri smiled at him, which only made Takato blush more," It's okay Takato. You don't need to be embarrassed. I couldn't except a gift from you anyway, not without me getting you something."

Miki looked at her watch,"Come on, Jeri, we'd better get going."

"Okay," she said, walking away,"Bye, Takato, you'd better hurry up, you don't want to be late for school again."

"Yeah," Miki said, combing her almost bluish hair,"Mr. Kamiya'll skin you alive."

"Bye, Jeri," he said, almost in a dream, "I'll be there soon."."

"Takato-mon," Guilmon asked, bringing Takato back to realitly,"why is your face all red?"

Takato sighed. "I'll tell you all about it when we get to the place I have planned for your home."

"Owe, I can't wait! My very own house, yay!"

"""""""""""""""""

"Mr. Matsuki," Tai said as Takato quickly jumped into his seat seconds before the second bell rang,"You almost didn't make it."

"I'm sorry, sir," he said,"I just..."

Tai held up his hand. "Why don't we just save the story for today, okay?"

"Yes, sir," Takato said, his face turning red.

Tai shook his head,"Mr. Matsuki, you're going to be in high school next year, you don't really think that those teachers are going to be lenient when you're late every day, do you?"

"No sir."

"You only have a few more months of me before you head on to high school, try to be on time."

"Yes, sir," Takato bowed, sitting back down as Tai started to write on the board.

"Hey, chumly," Kazu whispered to Takato from behind him,"Why didn't you ask Mr. Kamyia about his injuries?"

"Injuries?" Takato whispered back.

"Yeah, have you failed to notice the large bruises on his face?"

"No one knows," Kenta whispered, joining in,"Not even the other teachers, rumor is that he got into a fight or something."

"Is there something you would like to discuss with the rest of the class, boys?"

All three boys shot to their feet,"No, Mr. Kamiya!" they all shouted.

"Then save it until lunch time," Tai ordered.

""""""""""""""""""

"Mr. Hakkado," Yamaki bowed,"What a surprise."

The brown haired man glanced around the dome shaped control room of the Hypnos building. "I was wondering if I could possibly sit in for a little while? I am quite eager to observe how this entire organization works."

Yamaki had to hold his tongue. He did not like anyone observing the Hypnos command room, no one was even suppose to be able to enter the doors. Only those with the highest clearance, such as Riley, Tally and Orion were able to enter. The rest of the Digital Hunters were not even allowed here. Yamaki concluded that Hakkado must have been given clearance from the Emperor himself. He did not like it, but knew that if Hakkado had that much power, it could cost the Hypnos Commander in the long run.

Yamaki bowed,"As you wish. As you can see, we have been having a slow day."

"I only wish to watch how you handle an emergence," Hakkado explained,"I won't be in your way."

Yamaki nodded again, then watched as Hakkado walked over to one of the monitors on the ground level,"_There is something about him..."_

"""""""""""""""""""""""

"I'm sure to win the Digimon Card Tournament this year," Kazu boasted, leaning back in his seat.

Takato sighed and turned his head away from his friend. He learned that when Kazu got on his high horse, just not to listen.

"Yeah right," Kenta laughed,"you didn't even make it past the third round of last year's tournament."

"Yeah, well...you didn't even make it past the first round, ha!" Kazu laughed,"Come on, a girl won it last year, so how hard can it be?"

"_That _was no girl," Kenta said, shivering slightly,"That was the Digimon Queen?"

"Digimon Queen?" Takato asked, suddenly interested.

Kenta nodded, his eyes opened wide,"Yeah, her name is Rika Nonaka."

"Rika!" Takato almost shouted,"The girl from my dream."

"Not that again..." Kazu sighed,"Look, chumly, you're not impressing anyone with that."

"Look," Takato said,"I don't care if you believe me or not, but I need that girl!"

"Jeeze man," Kazu said,"If you need one that badly, maybe you should focus on keeping it in your pa-"

"Kazu!" Takato shouted. Suddenly, his face turned red, not because he had just shouted at Kazu, but because of the presence he felt behind him.

"Takato needs a girl? What for, will I do?"

"I don't know, Jeri," Kazu said,"Takato seems a little...'frisky' lately..."

Takato was seconds away from strangling his friend, when Jeri stepped in front of him. "Don't forget Takato, we have that study date tonight."

"Y..yeah," Takato said, calming down,"I won't forget."

Jeri smiled. "Good, because I canceled something with Miki tonight."

"I'll be there, I promise."

"Well," Kenta said to Kazu,"Anyone who could beat that Digimon Queen would be the strongest Tamer in the entire world!"

"Strongest Tamer?" Takato asked himself, lightly rubbing his chin,"Hmm..."

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

"Sir!" Riley shouted down from her elevated chair,"I've located the signal of the Wild One that attacked the train station last night."

"Excellent," Yamaki grinned,"Mr. Hakkado, you're about to see how this organization works. Tally, alert the nearest Digital Hunter."

"On it sir," Tally said,"Orion is the closest."

"Send her out with the location Riley is about to give you."

"Yes sir," both technicians said.

Hakkado smiled slightly,"This is truly an amazing place."

"""""""""""""""""

Ice Devimon grinned to himself as he stood atop a building roof, staring down at the city. "So many people, they have no idea what's going to occur soon. All with fall before the might of Armageddon! Ha!"

He spread his wings opened and took flight. "And you Alice, I am coming for you!"

""""""""""""""""

Tai took a deep breath as the last student left. "Another day done," he sighed, "Only about twenty years until retirement."

He heard a knock on the door and glanced up to see the principal walking into the classroom. "Good afternoon, Tai," he said.

"Good afternoon, sir," he said, standing up. As he did, he noticed a young woman standing nervously behind the principal, her hands nervously twitching in front of her.

"Mr. Taichi Kamiya," the principal said, moving aside,"This is Miss Nami Isage, she's a student teacher, who is going to be taking over your class for a few weeks, to complete her semester."

"Oh...ah...okay," he nodded, bowing,"It's niece to meet you, Miss Isage."

She bowed. "It is nice to meet you, Mr. Kamiya."

"Please," he said, bowing, "Call me Tai."

"Tai, huh?" she said.

"Well," the principal said, moving towards the door,"I'll leave you two alone to get to know each other."

"Well," Miss Isage said, siting down in one of the seats,"Do you have any pointers for me?"

Tai was going to speak, when he noticed, through the window, a black shadow fly over the cityscape. "Um, excuse me," he said, jumping up,"I've, ah, got another appointment I really should get to, so I'll talk to you tomorrow.."

"Oh, okay," she said, getting up,"I'll see you then."

Tai bowed, then charged out of the door. _"Ice Devimon's back,"_ he thought,_"And this time, _he's _not getting away!"_

""""""""""""""""

"Guilmon!" Takato shouted, opening the door to the small caged up box in the park,"Guilmon! I've got dinner...Guil-ah!" The entire floor of the cage had been dug up to create a very large hole.

His Digimon partner's head popped up from the hole. "Takato-mon!"

"Guilmon!" Takato said, dropping the bags of bread in awe,"What did you do to this place?"

"It was too small, so I made it bigger," he said, jumping next to him. He leaned down and started to sniff the bags,"Oh, what smells so good?"

Takato reached into one of the grocery bags and pulled out a loaf of bread. "This is called bread, you eat it. Watch." He bite off part of it,"See?"

Guilmon glanced at Takato, then back at the bread. He took a loafs and quickly gobbled them down. "Hey, that's pretty good." He started eating more of them.

"You've got quite an appetite, huh boy?" Takato asked, lightly patting him on the head.

Suddenly, Guilmon's head shot up and his eyes dilated into small dots. "W..what's wrong?" Takato asked, getting slightly worried.

"A Digimon," Guilmon growled,"And it's close!"

"Another Digimon?" Takato asked, his heart racing,"Wow, our first battle. Let's go."

"""""""""""""

Ice Devimon quickly flew over the crowd of screaming people as he examined each face as best he could. "Alice...Alice..." he mumbled, "Which one are you?" He glanced at the picture in his hand, then back at the people. "This is much harder then I thought."

He hovered down lower, which only caused the people to scream and run more. "Darn!" he shouted,"I'm going to have to catch these teenage girls if I want to capture Alice."

He landed in the center of the crowd. Everyone who had been screaming and running before were now completely frozen in place. Ice Devimon glanced over to where a group of teenage girls were standing. "Might as well start with you guys."

He started to walk towards the crying girls, when a man stepped in front of them. Ice Devimon growled, then gasped. "It's you," he said,"I'm surprised you're still walking after the beating that I gave you yesterday night."

Tai crossed his arms,"What can I say? I'm a fast healer."

"Well," Ice Devimon chuckled,"I can see that you're not going to leave even if I warned you, so I'll simply say this, stay here, and you die."

"I'm not going anywhere," Tai said, as the crowd started to disapear,"And I'm afraid you're mistaken. _You're_ the one that's going to die."

Ice Devimon roared with laughter,"A human is going to kill me? Haha!"

"You misunderstand," Tai grinned,"_I'm_ not going to kill you, _he_ is."

"Who?" Ice Devimon asked, turning around to see Agumon standing behined him. "An Agumon?" he laughed,"And what can a Rookie do?"

"This!" Agumon shouted as Tai's Digivice lit up,"Agumon warp digivolve to Wargreymon!"

Ice Devimon's expression instantly changed,"A...a mega? A mega! Here on earth? But...how can that..." He turned back around to a grinning Tai, who was now standing next to Gatomon,"You're a Digidestined...and if you're a Digidestined with a Mega, then that means you're a Master Digidestined...the Master Digidestined of Tokyo!"

Tai grinned, "Brilliant."

Ice Devimon started backing away from Tai, then spun around to Wargreymon. "How...what...but..."

"Surrender and tell us what is going on here," Tai demanded,"Or be destroyed."

Ice Devimon hesitated, trying to think of something to say, when he shot to the sky. Wargreymon jumped into the air and was in front of the cold devimon in seconds. Wargreymon smacked Ice Devimon across the face with the back of his gauntlets. Ice Devimon twisted around in the air, then righted himself. He screamed, shooting towards Wargreymon with his claws extended. The dinosaur warrior placed his hands together and raised them above his head, then slammed them down on Ice Devimon, sending him crashing into the payment in front of Tai and Gatomon.

"Ready to talk now?" Tai asked.

Ice Devimon coughed slightly,"Alright...alright...'cough' I don't know who he really is, but he wants that girl Alice McCoy for some reason..."

"What reason?" Tai asked.

"I don't know," Ice Devimon said,"All he told me was that five deaths will occur, then Armageddon will arise."

Tai glanced to Gatomon, then back at Ice Devimon,"_Who_ told you?"

Ice Devimon started laughing,"The next Master Digidestined of Tokyo! Hahahahah!"

Sirens suddenly started sounding in the distance. "Let's go!" Tai shouted, as he and Gatomon ran down the street, followed shortly by Agumon.

Ice Devimon was not sure how long he was lying there before he felt another presence above him; a strange man wearing a metal helmet. "Ice Devimon?" he asked.

"Who are you?" Ice Devimon asked, his eyes opening.

"I am Orion, of the Digital Hunting Agency, Hypnos. What happened here?"

"I was attacked, by the Master Digidestined of the city," Ice Devimon laughed,"And once five deaths have occurred, you humans will finally be destroyed! Hahahaha!"

Orion placed his fist above Ice Devimon's head and fired a massive fire blast from his wrist, silencing Ice Devimon forever.

""""""""""""""""

Takato tried to keep up with Guilmon as best he could, but his Digimon had already run almost the entire lenghth of the park. He was just wondering why he drew Guilmon with such long legs, when his digimon suddenly stopped in the center of the park; a large clearing with one tree in the center.

"Why did we stop here?" Takato asked, panting.

"Them!" Guilmon growled.

Takato then became aware of two figures standing at the base of the tree; a fox walking on two feet, and a red headed girl about his age standing next to the fox. Takato recognized them instantly. "You guys are from my dream!"

"I don't want any small talk!" the girl shouted,"It sure took you long enough to get here, I thought we'd be waiting all night."

"W-what?"

"I'm sure you're probably heard of me, I am..."

"Rika!" Takato shouted.

The girl scowled even more,"How do you know my real name? Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter. If you have anything to say to your Digimon, you'd better do it now."

"Why?" Takato asked.

Rika grinned,"Because Renamon here is going to tear him apart!"

_To be continued..._


	3. Guardians: Chapter 1

Previously…

_The man wearing a military uniform stood up,"Yes, good, good. " He pointed to an older man wearing a business suit,"This is the President of Tokonawa Electronics, Mr. Hakado."_

_"How do you do, sir?" Yamaki asked, bowing._

_"Mr. Yamaki," Hakado asked," My company is extremely interested in funding your 'Digimon Bounty Hunters'. Could you give me some background information?"_

_"Of course sir," Yamaki said,"These invaders, called Digimon, come from a place called 'The Digital World." We are not sure how this world came to be, however, we believe that a group of programmers created them twenty-seven years ago, in a project to create artificial life.."_

_"Kasumi, I don't want you to fight, understand? It's too dangerous, I don't want you to end up like your Aunt Kari!"_

_There was a long pause before Kasumi's response came,"Dad, Mom says that if you train me, I can stay with you for a while, like maybe a year or two..."_

_Takato was trying to get control of his breathing,"I.I..I think you're Guilmon, and I think I created you."_

_Guilmon looked confused,"'Created me?"_

_Ice Devimon coughed slightly,"Alright...alright...'cough' I don't know who he really is, but he wants that girl Alice McCoy for some reason..."_

_"What reason?" Tai asked._

_"I don't know," Ice Devimon said,"All he told me was that five deaths will occur, then Armageddon will arise."_

_Tai glanced to Gatomon, then back at Ice Devimon,"Who told you?"_

_Ice Devimon started laughing,"The next Master Digidestined of Tokyo! Hahahahah!"_

_"Rika!" Takato shouted._

_The girl scowled even more,"How do you know my real name? Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter. If you have anything to say to your Digimon, you'd better do it now."_

_"Why?" Takato asked._

_Rika grinned,"Because Renamon here is going to tear him apart!"_

**December 5, 2015**

The Book of Guardians

Chapter: 1

"Why?" Takato asked.

"What do you mean?" Rika asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why do we need to fight?" Takato asked, stepping in front of his digimon.

"You're a Tamer, right?" she laughed,"And you don't understand why? Ha ha!"

Takato clenched his fist,"Why are you laughing! Stop it!"

"Tamers fight!" Rika chuckled,"That's why we have digimon, that's what we do."

Takato glanced at Guilmon, then back at Rika and Renamon. "It can't be. There has to be more to it than fighting!"

"I am not talking about this any longer," Rika snarled,"Either fight or be destroyed. I'd prefer the former, but I'll easily take the latter."

Renamon flipped over Rika's head and landed on the ground in front of her. Takato starred at Renamon's eyes, then slowly stepped to the side to allow Guilmon to stare at the fox digimon. His eyes turned to slits and he leapt at Renamon. He dug his claws into her and the two of them rolled on the ground.

"Guilmon," Takato said, "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Rika started roaring with laughter. "Are you for real, Goggle Head?"

Takato brushed the goggles on the top of his head and growled. "What is your problem ? You are such a witch!"

Rika crossed her arms and smirked. "You didn't even have the guts to call me the b-word, did you?"

Takato growled, then turned to the battle. "Get her, Guilmon! Tear that fox apart!"

The two digimon rolled around on the ground for a few feet before Renamon broke free and somersaulted backwards. She jumped into the air, throwing her arms apart. "Diamond Storm!"

A dozen glowing diamonds shaped objects appeared around her, then shot towards Guilmon. To her horror, the glowing objects simply bounced off of Guilmon's skin. Takato gasped. "What, how can that...that be? Guilmon...I...how strong did I make you?" He turned towards Rika, but found that her expression remained the same. _"She either doesn't care, or doesn't have any emotions at all!"_

Renamon landed on the ground, then skyrocketed forward. She slammed her fist into Guilmon's jaw, throwing him on his back. Unfortunately, Renamon was caught in his backwards roll. Guilmon used this opportunity to catapult Renamon into the air with his hind legs.

"Pyro Sphere!"

Renamon flinched as Guilmon's fire attack hit her in the stomach. Takato's dinosaur charged forward and head-butted Renamon into one of the trees. Rika's digimon slowly got to her feet, but Guilmon snapped his jaw onto her shoulder.

"Renamon!" Rika shouted,"You're embarrassing me!"

"Sorry, Rika," she hissed in pain, clutching her shoulder,"He's stronger then we thought."

Rika reached inside her back pocket and pulled out her deck of cards. She easily maneuvered them through her fingers, then choose one. She slid it through the side of her D-arc. "Digi-modify: Snimon's Twin Sickle Activate!"

Renamon stood up firmly as her arms became giant blades. She leapt towards Guilmon, her blades glistening in the moonlight. "Guilmon!" Takato shouted, turning his head away,"I can't watch."

Guilmon charged at Renamon. He managed to sneak inside the blades, and butted his head into Renamon's stomach, which sent her flying backwards onto her back. Guilmon jumped into the air, then slammed into her already injured stomach with his feet. The blades on her arms vanished.

"Renamon!" Rika shouted,"What are you doing? Get up!"

Renamon slowly got to her feet, but fell onto her knees," I'm sorry, Rika," she moaned,"I can't..."

Takato was slowly starting to realize what had happened. He had actually won. "I won!" he cheered,"I actually beat the Digimon Queen! Hey, I guess that makes _me_ the strongest Tamer in the city, doesn't it?"

Rika glared at him, her eyes red with anger. "I'm going to kill you!" she screamed.

"What's going on here?"

The group twirled around and saw two figures standing on the small hill at the edge of the park: a tall teenage boy with black hair and a small dog/bunny creature at his feet.

"Another Digimon?" Rika asked,"They're showing up all over the place." She glanced at the dog/bunny digimon, then at Guilmon, who was still ready to fight. "Renamon! We're leaving!"

"As you wish, Rika," Renamon moaned and she suddenly disappeared.

"What happened here?" the boy asked, running into the clearing.

"She started it!" Takato suddenly shouted, wanting the other boy to make sure that he was not to blame.

The dog/bunny that was at his feet ran over to Guilmon. "Hi, how's it going? The name's Terriermon, who are you?"

"I'm Guilmon!" he smiled.

The tall black haired boy smiled and held out his hand,"I guess I should introduce myself, Jenrya."

"I'm Takato. You're a Tamer too?" he smiled,"I just received my digimon earlier today, and already I've already been thrust into a community!"

"That was the Digimon Queen, right?" Jenrya asked. Takato nodded. "And you actually beat her! How did you do that if you only met your digimon?"

"Truth be told, I have no idea.":

"""""""""""""""

The top of the apartment building lit up for a second before returning to night darkness. A creature had appeared from the light, a small white being with large feet and ears; he had a upside down red triangle on his forehead.

He looked around. "Hmm, what kind of place is this?" he asked. He grinned slightly and hopped along the ledge before reaching the end of the building. Glancing over he saw the lights of the cars on the streets. "What kind of Digimon are those? And why do they keep spitting out all those people?"

Calumon just shrugged, then floated across to the other building.

"""""""""""

Rika slammed the door to her house and ran down the hall. On her way, she passed by the kitchen where an elderly woman was busy in front of the stove. "Hello Rika!" she called.

"Hi, Grandma!" Rika snapped back, running across the yard to her room, where she slammed the doors once again. She charged over to her small desk and collapsed on top of it.

"Renamon!" she snapped.

The fox appeared in the shadows behind her. "Yes, Rika?"

"How did you lose?" she shouted.

"I'm not sure, Rika," Renamon said calmly,"That Digimon was much stronger then I thought."

"Was he a Champion? An Ultimate? A Mega?"

"No," Renamon shook her head,"I'm sure of it. I would most likely be dead right now if he was stronger then a Champion."

"We need to figure out a way for you to digivolve," Rika growled, clutching her fist,"I will not be humiliated! I will have revenge!"

""""""""""""""""""""

The next morning found Takato quickly charging into the classroom seconds before the bell rang. As he did, he was greeted by the sight of Jeri standing in front of him with her arms crossed. "J-Jeri!"

She reached over and slapped him across the face,"You stood me up last night!"

Shoot! He was supposed to meet her last night, but he got caught up in the battle with Rika, then talking to Jenrya. "Jeri! Listen, I know this is going to sound weird, but..."

"Save it!" she snapped, walking towards her seat.

"Jeri!" he called, walking after her, only to find that there was a woman at the back table that he had never seen before. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and shot into his seat.

"Wipeout, man!" Kazu shook his head,"What were you doing that you couldn't meet here?"

"Something very important," Takato sighed,"How long do you think she'll be angry?"

"Who knows?" Kenta asked,"Girls are weird."

Takato jerked his thumb over his shoulder to the woman in the back,"Hey guys, who's that?"

"We think it's a substitute," Kenta said with a grin,"I've got a few tricks I would like to pull."

"I hope they don't include the thumb tack on the seat, again."

Kazu and Takato twirled around as Kenta slowly turned to the source of the voice. "No, Mr. Kamiya, I mean...I'm not going to play any tricks, sir."

Tai nodded as he continued towards his desk,"Just make sure that you don't." He placed his briefcase onto the desk, then faced his class. "Okay guys," he said,"According to Kenta here, you have all seen our guest in the back of the room. That is Miss Isage. She is going to be student teaching you for the next few weeks."

The kids turned towards the back. Miss Isage nervously stood up and bowed. "Thank you," Tai said,"Now, we've got alot of work to get done today. Take out your English notebooks...and yes Kazu, it is necessary that you learn how to speak American."

"Oh man."

Miss Isage laughed slightly as Tai started writing English letters on the board. She was only an observer, but she was wondering what had happened between the one girl...Jeri, and Takato. She wanted to help them...ey, they'll make up. She sure hoped so, they looked as though they would make a cute couple.

""""""""""""""""

Yamaki clicked his cigarette lighter a couple of times as he rested against the chair. "I thought you were going to quit?"

He turned around and saw Riley walking into the control room. "I need a few to calm my nerves."

The technician jumped into her elevated chair,"They're going to give you lung cancer if you keep that up."

"I'm glad that at least one person cares for me," he said with a slight grin.

"You have a family," she said.

"An ex-wife and a daughter I never see," Yamaki grumbled.

"Why Yamaki, I never pictured you as a family man."

The blond grumbled slightly as Hakado entered the room. _"What is that guy doing here all the time? Doesn't he have a home?"_

Hakado grinned slightly as he walked over to Yamaki. "Just thought I'd stop by and see how my investments were doing, heh."

_"So he's funding us, our other supporters don't show up like this!"_

"Mr. Hakado, forgive me if I appear rude, but to what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

"I wanted him to see more of the Hypnos operations," said a brown haired woman with glasses and a business suit as she entered behind Hakado.

_"Miss Shiru, another funder? But why did she bring him here? Wait, I had heard the four supporters were unhappy, but, would Shiru make a play to place Hakado as commander? I've got to play this very carefully."_

"""""""""""""""""""

Takato was sleeping peacefully on his bed when he heard the door to his room slam shut. He quickly shot awake and saw Jeri standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. "Jeri!" he said, fumbling for the clock on his nightstand, "What time is it?

"It's five c'clock!" she said, throwing the stack of books in her hands onto the bed,"Did you forget about me again!"

"No, Jeri, I was just tired, I didn't mean...Look I had a rough night last night, and..."

"You mean last night, when we were supposed to study?"

Takato slapped his head. "Jeri, about last night..."

"What? What happened last night?"

Takato hesitated for a long while, then pulled the top desk drawer out. "Here," he said, throwing a square device into Jeri's hands.

"What's this, some sort of video game?"

"No, Jeri, that's a Digivice, and I am a Digimon Tamer..."

"Yeah, right."

"Jeri, I'm telling the truth! I'll take you to see my digimon partner if you want!"

Jeri threw the d-arc back into Takato's hands and marched towards the door. Something stopped her though. She turned back around and stared at him directly in the eyes. "T...Takato, you're telling the truth! Wait, you're...you're that Goggle wearing young man that was fighting the..."

Takato nodded. "Yeah, and you're the first person I've told..."

Jeri's eyes lit up. She knelt on the bed and placed her hand on Takato's cheek. "Oh, Takato, I'm sorry, why did you tell me?

Takato fidgeted and looked downward,"Well, I...you're my best friend, and I didn't want you to be mad at me."

Jeri leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Takato..."

There was a knock on the bedroom door. "Takato!" his mother shouted,"Takato! Can I come in?"

Jeri and Takato broke their embrace. "Sure Mom!" Takato shouted.

Mrs. Matsuki quickly entered the room and stared at the two young teenagers. She handed Jeri their portable phone,"Your father wants to talk to you."

"S-sure," the young teenager said,"Dad, what did...what! Dad, no nothing's happ...No! We did _not_ do that!...But Dad...you don't...What! All right...All right! I'll be right there."

She turned the phone off. "I've got to go."

"Why?" Takato asked.

"My Dad wants me to babysit my younger brother tonight while my parents go out," she sighed, grabbing her backpack,"I'll see you tomorrow."

After Jeri had left, Takato's mother twirled around to him. "Takato, what have you two been doing?"

"Huh?"

"Is this the first time, or was this going to be a continuing thing?"

"What are you talking about?"

Mrs. Matsuki sighed,"Do you know about protection?"

Realization dawned on Takato's face. "No...no! This can't be happening!"

"Takato," his mother said, sternly,"Do you know about protection?"

"Why would I need protection, when I haven't done anything!"

Mrs. Matsuki crossed her arms,"Well, I think this is more of a father and son thing, so I'll let your father talk to you, okay?" She hugged him, then exited the room.

Takato placed his palms over his eyes and fell back onto his bed.

"""""""""""""""""

Tai glanced down at the paper in his hand, then at the house in front of him._"This must be the place."_ He opened the steel gate and slowly walked up the badly damage sidewalk; the front yard was even worse, black grass covered in car parts. The house looked like it was seconds away from collapsing. _"I can't believe that a place like this would even be allowed to exist. Maybe I should try to do something about that, huh!"_

Tai knocked on the door. A second later a man with a large stomach opened the door. Tai held his breath as the stench of alcohol and body order swelled up his nostrils. "I had heard that this might be a place where Alice McCoy hangs out?"

The man stumbled for a few seconds, then turned around. Tai glanced over the man's shoulder and saw a large circle of older teenager boys and girls seated in a smoke filled room. "Yo!" the man shouted,"Is Alice here?"

The other teenagers mumbled to each other, then the man shook his head. "Alice ain't here. She hasn't been here in a long time."

Tai nodded. "Do you know where I might be able to find here?"

"Sometimes she hangs out at the arcade at 5th street."

Tai bowed. "Thank you." As he walked back down the sidewalk, he pulled out the pad of paper and crossed out the last location on the paper, then wrote a new one right below it. "This is quickly becoming a needle in a haystack. All I want to do is find one blond Gothic girl, in a sea of brown/black hairs, how hard can that be?"

Tai sighed, then rounded the corner. Agumon was on the sidewalk in his trench coat and Gatomon was practicing her tight-rope walking on top of a chain-link fence. "Well?"

"She wasn't there, Agumon," Tai said,"I've got to find out why Ice Devimon was after her."

"And Ice Devimon was working for the Dark Master Digidestined," Gatomon added, jumping down onto the sidewalk,"So if we figure out what's so special about Alice, maybe we'll figure out who the Dark Master Digidestined is."

"I just want to try and help Alice if I can," Tai mentioned to the house,"Espically if her regular handouts include places like that."

Tai started walking, but was surprised to see that Agumon and Gatomon weren't following him. He turned around and saw that the two digimon were standing firmly in place. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Tai," Agumon sighed,"Gatomon and I have been talking and...well..."

Gatomon shook her head, annoyed at Agumon's aggressive attitude towards Tai. "We think that if there's a Dark Master Digidestined, there's bound to be Dark Tamers as well. We think its about time you accepted your new destiny and train Tamers!"

Tai stared at the two of them. "We've been through this a thousand times. I'm not going to help any kids die! There aren't going to be any more dead children!"

Agumon and Gatomon were quite for a long time before Gatomon curled her back and her fur stood up on its end. "What's wrong?" Tai asked.

"Someone's here, be careful."

Tai cautiously looked around until he saw the figure of a teenage girl standing in front of him. She smirked, crossing her arms,"Well, now here's something you don't see everyday, an adult with two digimon partners!"

Tai kept his calm. "So?"

The girl snapped her fingers and a fox digimon appeared in front of her. "These are to be my opponents, Digimon Queen?" the fox asked.

"That's right, Renamon, tear them apart."

Tai chuckled slightly,"You can't..."

"But I can," Rika grinned,"You see, I recently lost my position as strongest Tamer in the city, and I need to get back to the top. So, nothing personal, you're just my stepping stones."

Tai glared at her. He was calm before, but now his blood was boiling. "I was going to say that you can't beat me, you really don't have a chance."

Rika started laughing. "An old man with a weird looking cat and a pipsqueak dinosaur in a bad disguise? Some threat!"

"Weird looking cat?" Gatomon shouted.

"Pipsqueak dinosaur?" Agumon shouted.

"Old man!" Tai screamed,"Alright you little brat, you're going to regret that!"

"Let me take her!" Gatomon pleaded,"She's really asking for it!"

Tai reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out the pink D3, "Alright, she's all yours."

"A pink digivice?" Rika laughed even harder.

"For your information it belonged to my sister!" Tai growled,"You're really pushing your luck!"

Rika uncrossed her arms,"Let's get on with it."

Renamon and Gatomon stared at each other for a few seconds before both digimon leapt to attack. The cat digimon easily rolled under Renamon's legs and rebounded her direction with her right leg, which sent her paw flying into the fo digimon's back. Renamon lurched forward, but spun around and hit Gatomon with the back of her paw. Gatomon fell to the ground, completely unharmed. Renamon jumped back, then into the sky. "Diamond Storm!"

Gatomon smiled. "This is too easy!" She jumped onto the chain-link fence and quickly clawed to the top before the Diamond Storm sliced the sidewalk apart.

"Your digimon may be fast," Rika said,"but she can't beat Renamon!"

Renamon gracefully landed on her feet and stared up at Gatomon. "We're not finished."

"I never said we were!" Gatomon jumped down and quickly whacked her tail across Renamon's face. Rika's digimon ignored the pain and executed a head-butt which sent Gatomon into the sidewalk.

"Nice shot," Gatomon said, slowly standing up, "I mean, it didn't hurt me, or course, but still..."

"""""""""""""""

Takato placed his hands over his head and put his head all the way on the floor. "I was so embarrassed."

"I can imagine," Jenrya smiled.

"She proceeded to tell me about..._it_! Followed by a two-hour long lecture from my father!" he sighed.

Jenrya nodded."Takato, um, did the two of you..."

Takato removed his hands and stared at Jenrya,"We did _not_ do that!"

Jenrya held up his hands,"All right, all right. But, _if_ you did…."

He was cut off by a loud crashing sound. The two Tamers turned their heads to the right and saw Terriermon and Guilmon lying amidst a pile of rubble from the wall of the hideout. "He got away from me, captain!" Terriermon said in his best impression of a Scottish accent,"But don't worry, I'll get him."

"Guillmon!" Takato shouted,"What are you doing?"

"Terriermon thought it would be fun if we ran around in circles until we hit the wall," Guilmon said, standing up.

"If Terriermon jumped off of a bridge, would you do the same?"

Guillmon's face lit up. "Terriermon's going to jump off a bridge? Wow, what fun!"

"So much for your parenting, huh?" Terriermon asked, jumping onto Jenrya's head.

"Anyway," Takato said, holding up a card,"Kazu gave me this card, I know your father works for the company that makes these, so I was hoping you could tell me if its worth anything."

Jenrya took the card and examined it. "It's a Training Grips card. You can use it to increase your digimon's strength, that's about it."

"Oh man, Kazu screwed me!"

Jenrya laughed slightly,"Don't worry, its just a card."

Suddenly, Terriermon's ears stood straight up on his head.

"Um, what are you doing?" Takato asked.

"A Digimon just crossed over!" Jenrya gasped,"We'd better check it out."

"R..right," Takato said, following Jenrya,"Come on, Guillmon."

The group of Tamers and digimon ran outside. A thick fog of white smoke was quickly pouring out of the top of a nearby building covering the area just around it. Terriermon's ears pointed towards a tall building at the edge of town,"Come on!" Jenrya said.

"""""""""""""""

"Here comes Calumon zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom, here comes Calumon, _no underwear zoom!"_

The small digimon skipped happily across the the top of the brick wall as he stared at the night sky. "That white ball up there looks so lonely, maybe it wants to be friends!" he laughed cheerfully. He ran over to a tall tree and climbed to the top. He still was not any closer to the yellow ball. He sighed in defeat, then turned his head towards the ground where he saw a yellow fox fighting a small white cat. "Why is that dog hurting that cat?" he asked,"Did they lose the mouse?"

Gatomon slammed her tail into Renamon's face, causing her to stumble backwards. "Are you ready to give up yet?" Tai asked.

"I'm not giving up to an old man and a cat," Rika said with a slight smile.

"If you don't stop calling me that, you're really going to be in trouble," Tai warned.

Rika smirked,"I'm really scared!"

"Gatomon!" Tai shouted,"Tear her apart!"

The white cat grinned. "I'm glad to see that you're finally getting back into the hang of things."

"Fight!" Tai ordered.

Renamon charged forward, but Gatomon dove underneath her. "Lightning Paw!" she shouted, slamming her fist into the fox's stomach. Renamon fell to the ground, but Gatomon performed the same attack on the fox's chin, sending her landing on her back.

"Gatomon," Tai said,"You didn't...?"

"No, she'll be fine," the white cat said, walking back to Tai's side,"After a day or two."

Rika was staring at Renamon, her mouth wide open. She could not believe it, her digimon had lost, however, that was not the reason that she felt the way she did. Something welled up inside of her as she stared at the fallen fox digimon, lying motionless on the ground. She charged over to her side,"Renamon?" she asked softly.

Renamon remained completely still, unmoving.

At the top of the tree overlooking the battle, Calumon frowned. "That mean cat hurt that fox." His ears shrunk inside of his head,"Game over."

"Renamon!" Rika shouted. Suddenly the D-Arc hanging from her belt shot forth a brilliant light.

Tai's eyes opened wide. "She's digivolving!"

"Renamon digivolve to Kyuubimon!"

Calumon grinned, his ears shooting from his head,"Game Time!"

Rika was gasping as she stared at the new digimon in front of her. "K..Kyuubimon?"

"Well, Digimon Queen," Tai said,"I am impressed. I wasn't aware that there wasn't any Tamer digimon in the city that could digivolve. Bravo."

Rika shook her head a few times, then focused her attention back to the battle. She pointed at Tai,"Kyuubimon, are you ready?"

"Yes, " the fox said.

"A Champion?" Gatomon asked, turning to Tai,"Maybe I'd better digivolve.."

"No!" Tai said,"This has gone on long enough! I've got other things to do then spend all night fighting a battle with a girl who shouldn't be in this game to begin with! Agumon!"

"Are you sure?" the orange dinosaur asked.

Tai took out his digivice,"Go!"

"Agumon warp digivolve to Wargreymon!"

On the top of the tree, Calumon looked wide-eyed at the armored dinosaur. "Wow, that guys is awesome!"

Rika was thinking the same thing. She was so filled with awe that she was having trouble thinking of what to do next. She finally held up her D-arc and an image of Wargreymon appeared from her screen. "W..Wargreymon..Dinosaur Digimon..._Mega level?_

Kyuubimon turned her head to Rika. "Mega? I think it would be wise if we left.."

Rika jumped onto Kyuubimon, but before the fox left, Rika stared at Tai. "If you have a Mega digimon, then that means you're the Master Digidestined of Tokyo!"

Tai crossed his arms and smiled,"That's right."

Rika shot her head back. "Run Kyuubimon! Run!"

The fox digimon took off down the street and disappeared. Wargreymon regressed back to Agumon. "That went well."

Tai smiled again,"Actually, it went according to plan. I only wanted to scare her off. Still..."

"What?" Gatomon asked.

"That girl was strong, powerful. She could become even stronger, with training..." Tai shrugged,"Oh well...I don't know about you, but I want to get home."

"Yeah," Agumon said,"I think I need a new coat."

As Kyuubimon charged down the darned sidewalk, Rika's heart was pounding so hard that it threatened to jump out of her chest at any second. "That was the Master Digidestined! We could have been killed!"

"Who is the Master Digidestined?" Kyuubimon asked. She had never seen Rika so frightened before.

"The Digidestined were the old generation of human/digimon partners. About fifteen years ago, they fought their final enemy, and each of the group was then assigned to a city to prepare for our coming, the Tamers, but our Master Digidestined hasn't been seen. I thought Tokyo didn't have one, but..that guy had to have been the Master Digidestined. I should have recognized the old digivice, but that Mega Digimon of his definitely proves his identity." Rika frowned,"But why would he appear after all this time? I've got a bad feeling about this."

She grinned as she looked at Kyuubimon,"Still you digivolved! We'll never be able to beat the Master Digidestined, but I can think of one Goggle head who's going to wish he was never born!"

"""""""""""""""

Takato and Jenrya slowly pushed aside the top of the bushed to examine the top of of the building. "This is a really strange fog," Takato said, glancing at the street,"It's so thick that we can't see inside of it, yet when we actually _get_ inside the fog, we can see perfectly."

"Its a Digital Field," Jenrya said, still looking at the building top,"It means that a Digimon is crossing over somewhere..."

"Like the top of the building?" Takato asked.

Jenrya turned to him a nodded. The group suddenly heard a loud explosion. They shot their heads to the building top again and saw that one of the windows was missing. In its place was a cloud of thick smoke that was billowing out. A large figure suddenly flung from the gapping hole and slammed into the pavement right in front of the two Tamers.

"Gorillamon!" Hnery shouted.

"Who?" Takato asked.

"We've face this guy before," Terriermon jumped onto Hnery's shoulder,"He's a pretty heavy hitter. We'd better be careful."

Takato was going to warn his digimon, when Guilmon suddenly dove through the brushes and emerged on the other side, head butting Gorillamon square in the stomach.

"Guilmon!" Takato shouted,"What are you doing?"

His digimon completely ignored him as he shot a fire blast into Gorillamon's cannon arm that exploded from the inside. Guillmon balanced on his back tail, then slammed his feet into Gorillamon's stomach. This only made him angrier.

"You've lost control of your digimon again!" Jenrya shouted to Takato,"Now, we're stuck in a battle we could have avoided!"

Takato was trying to think of something to say, but Jenrya turned his attention to his digimon. "Terriermon, give him a hand."

Terriermon jumped out of the bushes. "I can give him that and raise him my whole body!"

"Just help Guillmon!"

Terriermon started spinning around until he became a blur. "Terrier Tornado!" A blade of air shot into Gorillamon's stomach, bringing him to his knees. Guillmon did not wait another second; he jumped forward and planted his feet into Gorillamon again. The giant ape had recovered enough to grab Guillmon's feet and slam him into the pavement.

"Guillmon!" Takato shouted.

The red dinosaur turned to him. "What is it, Takato?"

Takato's eyes opened,"Y..you actually heard me? You're listening to me?"

"Of course."

"Takato!" Jenrya snapped,"Gorillamon's getting back to his feet."

"How are we going to beat him?" Takato asked,"He's a level stronger then we are. We need more training to beat a Champion..."

"Wait a second!" Jenrya said,"Quick, give me that card that Kazu gave you."

Takato fumbled through his card deck, then gave the card to Jenrya. "What did you want that for?"

Jenrya grabbed his D-arc,"You'll see. Digimodify! Training Grips activate!"

Takato turned back to the field. Terriermon's ears suddenly became weighed down by a pair of thick metal grips. "You know what to do!" Jenrya called.

Terriermon started swinging his ears around until the grips flew off and landed on Gorillamon, binding his arms and legs. Jenrya turned to Takato,"Terriermon doesn't have enough power, but maybe Guillmon does."

"Oh, right," Takato said, grabbing a card from his deck,"Digimodify: Power activate! Get him Guillmon!"

The red dinosaur opened his mouth, "Pyro Sphere!" A massive ball of red fire slammed into Gorillamon's stomach, blasting him into a million small glowing pieces.

"Load his data!" Takato shouted.

The glowing pieces flew into Guillmon, causing his to glow for a second. Jenrya placed a hand on Takato's shoulders,"Well, you just defeated your first enemy."

Takato smiled slightly and was going to reply, when the fog of the digital field around them started to dissipate. The group heard sirens going off and helicopters above them. "We'd better get out of here," Takato said,"Guillmon!"

"Come on, Terriermon," Jenrya shouted as the group disappeared into the bushes.

"""""""""""""""""""""

Yamaki frowned as he glanced up at Riley's elevated chair,"What do you mean, 'he didn't get there in time?"

Riley gulped. "Orion reported that he did not get to the wild one in time, sir."

"So what happened to it?"

"It either crossed back over, or someone else destroyed it."

Yamaki crossed his arms,"But who?"

"Sir," Tally called,"We are getting reports that a Yakuna Kanbara, a leader in Japan's exports was killed by a 'large white gorllia with a cannon for an arm."

"That wild one killed a government official?" Yamaki asked with horror.

"Apparently, sir."

"I want surveillance doubled around government buildings, this is not going to happen again!" Yamaki thundered.

"Yes sir!" both Riley and Tally shouted.

High above the city, a figure stood on the balcony, over looking the city. "Soon," he said,"soon it will all come together. One death has already occurred, only four more, and the world will be mine!"

to be continued...


	4. Guardians: Chapter 2

_Guilmon charged at Renamon. He managed to sneak inside the blades, and butted his head into Renamon's stomach, which sent her flying backwards onto her back. Guilmon jumped into the air, then slammed into her already injured stomach with his feet. The blades on her arms vanished._

_"Renamon!" Rika shouted,"What are you doing? Get up!"_

_Renamon slowly got to her feet, but fell onto her knees," I'm sorry, Rika," she moaned,"I can't..."_

_Takato was slowly starting to realize what had happened. He had actually won. "I won!" he cheered,"I actually beat the Digimon Queen! Hey, I guess that makes me the strongest Tamer in the city, doesn't it?"_

_The tall black haired boy smiled and held out his hand,"I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Jenrya."_

_"We need to figure out a way for you to digivolve, Renamon," Rika growled, clutching her fist,"I will not be humiliated! I will have revenge!"_

_"Mr. Hakado, forgive me if I appear rude, but to what do we owe the honor of your visit?"_

_"I wanted him to see more of the Hypnos operations, Yamaki, " said a brown haired woman with glasses and a business suit as she entered behind Hakado._

"Miss Shiru, another funder? But why did she bring him here? Wait, I had heard the four supporters were unhappy, but, would Shiru make a play to place Hakado as commander? I've got to play this very carefully."

_Takato hesitated for a long while, then pulled the top desk drawer out. "Here," he said, throwing a square device into Jeri's hands. _

_"What's this, some sort of video game?"_

_"No, Jeri, that's a Digivice, and I am a Digimon Tamer..."_

_Tai knocked on the door. A second later a man with a large stomach opened the door. Tai held his breath as the stench of alcohol and body order swelled up his nostrils. "I had heard that this might be a place where Alice McCoy hangs out?"_

_Tai cautiously looked around until he saw the figure of a teenage girl standing in front of him. She smirked, crossing her arms,"Well, now here's something you don't see everyday, an adult with two digimon partners!"_

_Tai kept his calm. "So?"_

_The girl snapped her fingers and a fox digimon appeared in front of her. "These are to be my opponents, Digimon Queen?" the fox asked._

_"That's right, Renamon, tear them apart."_

_Rika was so filled with awe that she was having trouble thinking of what to do next. She finally held up her D-arc and an image of Wargreymon appeared from her screen. "W..Wargreymon..Dinosaur Digimon...Mega level?_

_"The Digidestined were the old generation of human/digimon partners. About fifteen years ago, they fought their final enemy, and each of the group was then assigned to a city to prepare for our coming, the Tamers, but our Master Digidestined hasn't been seen. I thought Tokyo didn't have one, but..that guy had to have been the Master Digidestined. I should have recognized the old digivice, but that Mega Digimon of his definitely proves his identity." Rika frowned,"But why would he appear after all this time? I've got a bad feeling about this."_

_She grinned as she looked at Kyuubimon,"Still you digivolved! We'll never be able to beat the Master Digidestined, but I can think of one Goggle head who's going to wish he was never born!"_

_The red dinosaur opened his mouth, "Pyro Sphere!" A massive ball of red fire slammed into Gorillamon's stomach, blasting him into a million small glowing pieces. _

_"Load his data!" Takato shouted._

_The glowing pieces flew into Guillmon, causing his to glow for a second. Jenrya placed a hand on Takato's shoulders,"Well, you just defeated your first enemy."_

_High above the city, a figure stood on the balcony, over looking the city. "Soon," he said,"soon it will all come together. One death has already occurred, only four more, and the world will be mine!"_

**December 8, 2015**

Book of Guardians:

Chapter 2

The light from the moon shown into the dimly lit warehouse, giving the players around the small card table extra light to continued their games. These were not ordinary players, however, but were white ghosts holding the cards in their black clawed hands.

The third Bakemon turned to the fourth. "Come on!"

"Make a decision!" the first one shouted.

The fourth one stared at the cards in his hands, then at the others. "Go fish."

The other three growled. "We're not playing Go fish!" the second one shouted.

"Just a little joke," the fourth one said, throwing his cards down,"Read 'em and weep!"

The other three threw the cards onto the table as the fourth one grabbed all of the money on the table,"I can finally buy some shoes!"

"You don't have any feet," the first one pointed out as he started dealing the cards, but they were not able to start another game as the window suddenly shattered as a large fox creature with a human riding it jumped through.

"The Digimon Queen!" they shouted.

The human grinned slightly. "Hello boys, mind if we drop in?"

The Bakemon shot towards their enemies, their claws extended for the kill. Kyuubimon jumped over them and slammed her feet into the back Bakemon, separating them. She twirled around and shot fire from her tail into two of the Bakemon, dissolving them apart. Kyuubimon pounced on the last Bakemon, pinning him to the wall. "Now," Rika said,"I'm only going to ask you this once, what are you doing here?"

Kyuubimon suddenly shot her tail up and shot a ball of fire behind her into the last Bakemon, who was planning on attacking her from behind. "Don't insult us!" Kyuubimon growled.

The last Bakemon squirmed under Kyuubimon's claws. "I...I...I can't tell you!"

"Why not?" Rika asked.

"He...He'll kill me!"

"Who?"

"Devidramon."

"Where is this..Devidramon?" Rika asked.

"He..he hasn't crossed over yet? He sent us forward to prepare for him."

Rika nodded,"When is he planning on arriving?"

"I...I can't.."

"Listen," Rika said,"Either you die when he gets here, or you die now! Talk to me, and I won't hurt you."

The Bakemon considered this,"He's going to appear tomorrow night, eight o'clock."

"Thank you," Rika said, jumping off of her digimon,"Now, Kyuubimon, send this guy to meet his maker."

The Bakemon's eyes opened wide,"But you promised you wouldn't hurt me!"

As Kyuubimon prepared to fire her Fox Tail Inferno, Rika chuckled, "I lied!"

"""""""""""""""""

Calumon was sleeping peacefully on a tree branch with his back against the trunk, dreaming of cream puffs and playing games when he was forcefully awakened by a loud explosion. He fell off the branch, but was able to keep from crashing into the ground by quickly grabbing the side of the branch. He slowly climbed back onto the branch and looked around. "What happened? Did the ground just have a tummy ache?"

He heard another explosion. He ran to the edge of the branch and parted the green leaves to peek to the sidewalk. "What's going on down there?" Calumon asked,"What did that spider do to that dinosaur? Maybe if they'd play a game they'd get along."

Takato cheered for his digimon partner as he leapt into the air and kicked his feet into his opponent. The Digimon Tamer glanced at his D-Arc, where a circular image had appeared over the screen. "Hmm...Dokugumon, spider digimon. Be careful Guillmon!" he shouted,"She's poisonous!"

"You'd better believe it," the spider laughed, ramming Guillmon onto the pavement. Takato's partner jumped back onto his feet.

"Pyro Sphere!"

Dogukumon's front leg was hit, but she recovered easily. She grabbed Guillmon by his tail with her teeth and flung him into the sky. "I'm one of the crime masters of the city!" she laughed,"You'll never beat me!"

Takato quickly fished through his deck of cards and found one that he wanted. He quickly slid the card through his D-Arc, "Digimodify! Hyper Wings activate!"

Guillmon suddenly noticed that he was no longer falling uncontrollably. It was as if someone had pumped the knowledge of the wings into his head. He now easily soared back down to Dogukumon, planting his feet into her head. He then shot back into the sky.

Takato threw his fist into the air,"Yes! Come on, Guillmon, we can beat her!"

"No, you won't!" Dogukumon growled,"Posion Spread!"

The goggle wearing Tamer ducked to avoid being hit by one of the threads, but Guillmon was caught into he giant web that formed over the section of the park. "Guillmon!" he screamed.

"Don't worry, Takato," the red dinosaur said as he struggled to break free of the spider's wbe,"I'm alright and I'm going to win!" His bravado was obliviously fake, as his wings vanished.

"Guillmon!" Takato shouted.

Dogukumon was laughing viciously, but suddenly she stopped. The web lines dissolved and Guillmon fell freely to the ground. Takato spun around and saw that Dogukumon was gone and in her place stood Kyuubimon with Rika riding her. Takato was horrified, "You...you killed Dogukumon!"

"It appeared that I was saving your digimon's life," Kyuubimon said, as she absorbed the spider's data.

"Think of it was a warning of what's going to happen to you when we have our rematch!" Rika laughed as she and her partner vanished.

"She gives me the creeps!" Guillmon shivered.

Takato nodded,"You and me...both..." He trailed off when he saw Calumon float down from the tree branch he was on. "Wh..what the...?"

The small digimon landed on the ground and stared up at Takato."Hello."

"Uh..h...hi."

Guilmon bent down and sniffed the white creature. "You're..Calumon?"

"That's right!" he grinned,"What's your name?"

"Guilmon."

"I'm Takato, Calumon, um, where's your Tamer?"

"T..tamer?" he asked, not knowing the meaning.

"Don't you have a human that is your partner? That stays by you?"

Calumon shook his head.

"Okay, so you don't have a Tamer, so where do you stay?"

"Anywhere I want!" he giggled,"I just moved here, do you want to be my friend?"

Takato smiled slightly,"Maybe you should come with me..."

""""""""""""""

Riley sighed slightly as she examined the covered body which was lying on the floor. A man wearing a blue uniform walked over to her and handed her a clipboard with a manila folder.. "Thanks," she said, opening the folder and glancing inside.

Tally walked up beside her,"What do you have there?"

She mentioned to the lying body, "The folder on our unfortunate victim there. He was Takanocka, Nigwa, C.E.O of a very successful electronics company. From what we're able to tell, he received a mortal wound from what appears to be some kind of projectile."

Tally nodded. "So, Riley, why were _we_ called in?"

Riley pulled a photo from the folder and handed it to Tally. The blond gasped at the pictures, which showed a walking skeleton creature with a large staff. "Which one is that?"

"I believe it is referred to as a 'Skull Satanmon,' Riley said, placing the photo back into the folder,"That's what killed Takanocka."

"Yamaki's probably not happy about this," Tally muttered.

"He's quite annoyed, Tally," Riley sighed.

""""""""""""""""

"_...Tne twelve warriors rode around the tomb, chiefton's sons, champions in battle, all of them distraught, chanting in dirges, mourning his loss as a man and a king. They extolled his heroic nature and exploits and gave thanks for his greatness; which was the proper thing, for a man should praise a prince whom he holds dear and cherish his memory when that moment comes when he has to be convoyed from his bodily home. So the Geat people, his hearth companions, sorrowed for the lord who had been laid low. They said that of all the kings upon the earth he was the man most gracious and fair-minded, kindesy to his people and keenest to win fame."_ Tai slowly closed the book. He was leaning against the front of his desk, staring at his students. "Does anyone have any comments?" He paused until he saw a couple of hands. He chose one at random. "Yes, Miki?"

"Sir, there's something I don't quite understand," she said, lowering her hand.

Tai nodded. "What is it?"

Miki fidgeted slightly,"I...well, sir, I don't understand why Beowulf would have gone into battle with that dragon if he was _that _old. I mean, probably part of him _knew_ he wasn't going to make it."

Tai nodded, then glanced at everyone. "Any ideas?" To his dismay, none of his students raised their hands. He hid his disappointment from everyone else in the room except for Miss Isage, who was staring over Takato's shoulder at the drawings on his desk.

_"...and I'm going to give him a super fire blast!"_ Takato grinned in delight as he finished coloring in the drawing of the large dinosaur,"_I'll call him SuperDinoBlastermon! No, that's stupid! Um...Growlymon...Grolwmon...That's it, Growlmon! Growl..."_ He stopped and glanced over his shoulder where he saw Miss Isage's face. "_Uh oh..." _Takato quickly hid the drawing, and was thankful that the new teacher only whispered for him to pay attention.

Tai just nodded and continued, "Well, the reason Beowulf was willing to fight to the death, was because he believed in what he was fighting for. His faith gave him strength."

The students just gave him a puzzling look. Tai sighed,"You guys are probably too young to understand this, but you have to have something more to your lives. There has to be something that you would be willing to fight for, willing to die for, be it friends, family, country, beliefs, anything."

Tai smiled at the reactions he was now receiving. The kids were really thinking, especially Takato, Tai did not think he ever saw the young teenager suddenly appear so attentive. It was like someone had pushed a switch in his head. Jeri inoccently raised her hand. "Yes?"

"Um, what about you, Mr. Kamiya?" she asked.

"What was that?"

"Do you have anything you'd be willing to die for?"

Tai stared at her for a second, then chuckled. He was about to open his mouth when the bell sounded through the school. "Class dismissed." The class quickly shot out the door.

"Very motivational speech, Mr. Kamiya," Miss Isage chuckled as she walked up the empty classroom.

"Thank you," Tai said, packing up his textbook,"I noticed that you had to reminded Mr. Matsuki to pay attention. What was he doing?"

Miss Isage shrugged,"Oh, just doodling."

Tai nodded and started packing up.

"Um, what you were saying before, is there really something you would die for?"

Tai smiled slightly. "Maybe once, when I still had a heart and soul, but it was taken from me."

Miss Isage walked over and placed her arm around Tai's shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Tai glanced at her. "Well, if you're not too busy, maybe you can convince me over dinner tonight?"

Miss Isage grinned. "I'd love to."

"""""""""""""""

The mid afternoon sun was slowly moving down the bright blue sky, casting its shadows along the sidewalks, interrupted only as the rush hour traffic of pedestrians hurried along on their way. They were so busy staring at the ground that had they looked unaware they would have seen a very remarkable sight-a redheaded teenage girl wearing the uniform of a very prestigious all girls' school standing on a building roof.

The girl blinked slightly as she heard her partner appear behind her. "What is it Renamon?"

"I was just wondering what you were doing here Rika?"

The red head mentioned to the building across the street. "That's where Goggle head lives. Hmm...Matsuki Bakery. I think I went there once, Grandma needed fresh rolls, and Mom was wondering if anything was low fat. Look, a complete family, mother and father. Ha, I bet Goggle Head's father is always there, his mother is never shouting at him, telling him how to act, what he can and can't be, I bet he's so happy, so perfect!"

Renamon stared at her partner for a second before Rika turned to her. "Come on, let's get out of here."

""""""""""""""

"...and I win!" Kazu shouted, throwing down his cards,"You're out!"

Kenta's face dropped open,"B..b...but...how...I don't...it can't...but...but...but..."

"Come on man, you sound like a motor boat," Kazu said, shuffling his cards,"Hey, Takato:"

The brown haired boy continued to lie on his back, staring up at the ceiling of the inside of the playground elephant. "Hey Chumly!" Kazu shouted.

Takato quickly shot up."What?"

"Do you want the next game or not?" Kazu asked, shuffling the cards in his palms like a casino dealer,"Jeeze, what's with you?"

"Sorry," Takato sighed, rubbing the back of his neck,"I've just been thinking about what Mr. Kamiya talked about."

"That again?" Kenta asked.

"Listen Chumly," Kazu said,"He's just trying to put his point across. I mean, I'm all for dying for your family or your country, but you shouldn't feel like there's something wrong with you if you aren't a maester..."

"Martyr," Kenta corrected.

"Shut up, four-eyes," Kazu said, punching him in the arm.

"Hmm..." Takato considered,"I just don't know if I have anything that I'd be willing to die for."

"Ahh, really, don't worry about it," Kenta said,"You'll find it when you need it."

_"I hope so,"_ Takato thought.

"""""""""""""""""

"Come on Jenrya, please?"

"No, Terriermon!" Jenrya sighed, rubbing his face as he leaned back against the blenchers surrounding the soccer field.

"Please?" his dog/rabbit said as he ran along the bleechers,"Come on, Jenrya, you're always such a stick in the mud."

"Maybe I'm just cautious," the black haired young teenager said,"Besides which, you know that people aren't going to be very excepting if a digimon enters an animal contest!"

"We could have tried," Terriermon plopped down next to him, knowing that Jenrya was right.

"Come on," Jenrya said, "We'd better get back home, it's getting late."

Terriermon slowly got to his feet, when his ears suddenly shot straight up. "Uh oh."

"An emergence?" Jenrya asked, swinging his head in all directions,"But where?"

Terriermon pointed to the soccer field where a cloud of thick smoke appeared,"Maybe there."

"The Digital Field," Jenrya said,"Come on, Terriermon!"

"Right behind ya!" Terriermon shouted as he and Jenrya dove into the smoke.

Inside the Digital Field, the dusky twilight was now the brightness of a blue afternoon sky, one which had a flying creature hovering around in it. "Hmm," Jenrya said, checking his D-Arc,"Vileamon, demon digimon, champion level. Well, this shouldn't be too hard."

"Guess again, pitiful Earth dwellers!" Vileamon laughed.

Terriermon placed his ears perpendicular to his head and started spinning around. "Terrier Tornado!"

Vilemon was hit by the rush of air, but not enough to cause him serious damage. He fired a black blast from his mouth, which Terriermon was, thankfully able to dodge. The dog digimon fired his Bunny Blaster, but the flying demon easily dodged it.

"He's got too much leverage up there," Jenrya said. He quickly pulled a card out of his deck and slid it through his D-Arc,"Digi-modify! Patamon activate!"

Terriermon's long ears transformed into Patamon's bat wing ears. He started flapping them at an incredible rate. He flew after Vilemon, aiming for another attack,"Bunny Blast!"

Vilemon dodge out of the way again, and slammed his fist into Terriermon's face, crashing him into the ground. "Ha!" he laughed, as the dog digimon slowly got back onto his feet,"I could stay and play with you all day, but I've got bigger fish to fry. Later!" He flew out of the Digital Field, which vanished after he was out of range.

"Well that could have gone better," Jenrya sighed as he helped Terriermon to his feet.

"Jenrya! I've been looking all over for you!"

"Takato? What are you doing here?"

The goggle wearing brown haired boy was out of breath as he spoke."What happened here?"

"Just a little battle," Terriermon chuckled.

Takato shook his head,"Never mind. Jenrya, I found a strange digimon named Calumon. He's back at Guillmon's hide out."

Jenrya glanced at his watch,"Can't this wait?"

Takato shrugged,"Well, I guess it _could.._"

"Allright, we're coming."

Jenrya gasped slightly at the small creature bounding around Guillmon's small hideout. "This is..a digimon?"

"Yup!" Calumon laughed, dancing up and down,"Who are you?

"Um...Jenrya."

"Jenrya, that's a funny name!" Calumon laughed,"Shouldn't you have a 'mon' at the end?"

"No, I mean, I'm human."

"So?" Calumon laughed.

Jenrya turned to Takato. "_This_ couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

The goggle head shrugged slightly. "I thought it was important."

Jenrya sighed. "Where's Calumon going to stay?"

The white digimon stopped playing with Terriermon and Guillmon to stare at the two humans. "Stay?" he asked,"Oh, I never stay in one place."

"You don't?" Takato asked.

Calumon hopped over to the small doorway. "Nope, I go where ever I want." He started hovering away from the stone structure.

"Calumon, wait!" Guillmon shouted.

"Don't worry, Guillmon!" Calumon chuckled,"I'll be back."

"That's one strange Digimon," Terriermon said as he climbed onto Jenrya's head,"Come on, Jenrya, we'd better get home."

The black haired Tamer and his partner started walking down the stairs. "Hey, are you going patrolling tonight?"

Jenrya shook his head,"No, I've got a lot of work to get done."

"Oh," Takato said, disappointed.

"Momentai!" Terriermon laughed, as he and Jenrya walked away.

"""""""""""""""""

"This just goes to prove how crazy I am!" Tai mumbled as he walked down the sidewalk. Following loyally at his side, Agumon, disguised in his trench coat, glanced at his partner.

"What are you talking about?"

"I just spent a wonderful dinner with a beautiful woman, and when I take her home, she asked me to come in, and what do I do?"

Gatomon, who was on the other side of Tai, grumbled,"What?"

"I go out trying to find a girl that for all I know doesn't want to be found."

"I always knew you were nuts," Gatomon mumbled, turning her head away as she continued walking.

Tai glared at her. "What was that?"

Agumon glanced up at one of the buildings along the sidewalk,"Tai, I think we're here."

Tai smiled slightly as he glanced up at the sign. "5th street arcade." He turned to his two digimon partners, "Wait here."

"Of course," Gatomon mumbled as she sat down on the sidewalk. Agumon just sighed.

Tai pushed open the door to the arcade and was overcome by the same stench that he encountered at the crack house. He held his breath as she stepped inside, but started breathing when he took the first step. The inside of the room was packed tight with various arcade games around the wall There was a caged up stand to the far right with an older man seated behind it. In the center of the room were a group of kids gathered around a pool table, and a bar which had various soda labels on the taps, but Tai knew that something else was coming out of them.

He took another step inside and let the door slam shut, but no one heard it over the roar of the music. Tai glanced at the group of teenagers and young adults, trying to decide whom to talk to. He settled on the 'bartender' and so pushed through the crowd and sat on one of the barstools.

The bartender was dressed in a black sleeveless shirt, an eye patch, and had a nose ring. He raised his eyebrow when he glanced at Tai. "Can I get you something?"

Tai nodded. "Yeah, I'm looking for someone."

"You a cop?" the bartender asked.

Tai shook his head and pulled something out of his pocket. "I'm just looking for someone, if you can tell me anything, your troubles will be well financed."

The bartender leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. "Who are you looking for?"

"Alice McCoy."

The bartender looked out at the crowd that was in the arcade. "Nope, I don't see her here tonight."

Tai nodded, frowning. "Do you know anywhere else where she might be?"

"Why are you so interested in finding her?" the bartender asked, razing his eyebrow again.

"She owes me some money," Tai lied,"I should have never trusted her on credit."

The bartender nodded, thinking Tai was a drug dealer. "Yeah, I know just what you mean. Ya can't trust any_body_! Well, I don't know where she might be, but one of them might know." He mentioned to the teenager crowd.

Tai nodded and walked over to the pool table. The group stopped playing and glanced over their shoulders at him. "Want something old man?" one of the boys asked.

Tai struggled to keep his temper under control. "I am looking for a girl named Alice McCoy, know where she is?"

One of the girls backed up slightly,"Why are looking for Alice?"

"She owes me money," Tai said,"Do you know where she is?"

The girl stared at Tai,"Who are you?"

Tai made sure that the collar of his trench coat was casting enough of a shadow on his face so no one could identify him later. "Just someone."

The girl stepped back further as the group of teenagers moved behind her. "What's going on?" Tai asked.

The girl glared at Tai. "I don't know why you're looking for Alice, but I don't trust you." Suddenly, her body began to change, her skin twisted and turned, along with her clothes, changing until she was no longer a teenager girl wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but a young woman dressed in tight fitting black body suit, with daggers attached to metal sheets around her tights. The other teenagers were gasping, and Tai's mouth was wide open. "W..what?"

The woman grabbed her daggers,"I am Artemis, a Digital Hunter, and you are coming with me."

Tai took a few steps back, then dove out the door and landed on the side walk. He glanced up and saw something flying towards him, glittering in the moonlight. He quickly rolled out of the way just as a set of daggers pierced into the sidewalk. A second later, Artemis jumped out of the arcade. She picked up her daggers, then glanced to where Tai was running down the sidewalk. "You're not getting away!" she shouted.

Tai charged to where his two digimon partner were standing. "Gatomon!" he shouted, holding up the pink digivice,"You're up!"

"Gatomon digivolve to...Angewomon!"

Artemis stopped short as she stared at the angle digimon in front of her. She glanced at Tai, then at Agumon, then Gatomon, then back at Tai. "You're not a normal human, that much is obvious, but _two_ digital partners? I've heard rumors, about a middle-aged man with a dinosaur and a cat. You're the Master Digidestined."

"That's right," Tai crossed his arms, standing in the shadows so Artemis could not see him.

Artemis started laughing. "I can't wait to see the look on Orion's face when I capture the Master Digidestined!"

Tai chuckled slightly,"You honesty think you'll be able to defeat us? A woman with a pair of knives? Ha!"

Artemis growled and grabbed her daggers. "Let's go!"

"""""""""""""""""

Takato quickly glanced up at the sky when he heard a sharp win sound through the night sky. "It's only a bird," he said to himself, "It's only a bird."

Guillmon glanced at him with a puzzling look. "What are you talking about?"

Takato shook his head. "Never mind. Come on, let's head downtown."

As the two partners moved down the sidewalk, they were unaware that they were being observed from the roof of a nearby building by Rika and Renamon. Both digimon and human had to contain themselves from leaping down and challenging the goggle headed Tamer and his red dinosaur, they would have to wait for their chance, for now, another challenge awaits them.

Renamon's ears twitched as she heard a distinct and very unique sound. Rika saw this and glanced at her watch; 8:00. "Devidramon."

Guillmon suddenly stopped walking. "Guillmon?" Takato turned towards him. "What's wrong?"

"A digimon's coming!" Guillmon shouted,"The most powerful one that's ever crossed over!"

""""""""""""""""

Yamaki flung open the door to the Hypnos command center. "Tracker! Status Report!"

"We're reading a large amount of digital information bio-merging!" Riley shouted as her fingers danced across the keyboard of her raised chair.

Yamaki nodded. "Recorder?"

"I haven't found anything yet, sir," Tally said from her own chair, as she tried to match the data signal that was received to their files. So far, she had found nothing.

On the floor, Yamaki clicked his cigarette lighter a few more times before speaking,"Tracker, who's closest?"

"Artemis, sir, but she's not responding to her communicator," Riley said,"I'm trying to locate Orion..."

"Sir!" Tally called,"I haven't been able to identify the Wild One, but there are two other signals that are heading towards it, both of them are in our data banks."

"Who?"

"The Goggle headed Tamer, and the Digimon Queen."

Yamaki thought for a few seconds, "A new talented amateur, and an experienced Tamer. Hmm...Riley, forget about the Digital Hunters, let's see how these two Tamers handle this threat."

"As you wish sir."

""""""""""""""

As Takato ran after Guillmon, he noticed a figure leaping across the building roofs. "What is that?"

Guillmon glanced up and his eyes shrunk even more. "Renamon!" he hissed.

"The Digimon Queen's coming?" Takato growled as he and Guillmon continued running down the sidewalk,"Great, this is gonna be fun."

Renamon continued hopping across roofs with incurable ease and grace, always a few feet ahead of the dinosaur and his human partner. Takato was beginning to think that they would be running forever, when they suddenly reached a large onramp/offramp section of the roadway-one that was covered in white fog. "A Digital Field...A big one too."

"What are you doing here?"

Takato twirled to the right and saw Rika standing with her arms crossed, glaring at him. "What are you doing here?" she asked again.

"I...ah...uh...I'm here to fight the digimon," he pointed to the fog.

"Well, butt out!" Rika shouted,"This is _my_ battle." Renamon suddenly appeared beside her.

"Rika, he's emerging," the fox said, leaping towards the diminishing white smoke.

The Digimon Queen glared at Takato as she flicked her sunglasses off of her forehead onto her nose. She grabbed her D-Arc and cards out of her trench coat pocket, then ran after Renamon.

Takato shivered slightly,"She really gives me the creeps."

"Takato-mon," Guillmon pointed towards the _now_ diminished Digital Feild,"Something's out."

The brown haired Tamer pointed his D-Arc at the massive creature. "Devidramon, dragon type, champion level. Well, Rika can surely handle this."

Renamon jumped into the air and with perfect grace, twisted her body around so that she was able to land her foot right on Devidramon's snout. The dragon digimon threw his hands up in an attempt to catch her, but the fox digimon leapt over his head and started to run down his back. She was at the mid-point of his back, when she leapt into the air, and once again maneuvered around in the sky with such skill that even the fines gymnast would be jealous. She flung open her hands and threw them down. "Diamond Storm!"

Devidramon flinched in pain as the shards of lights jabbed into his back. He was injured, but not enough that it would case him serious harm. He quickly flung his tail into the air, hoping that Renamon was still behind him. He felt his tail slam into something, and grinned when he heard Renamon moan in pain. He quickly shot around, but she was gone. He knew where she was a second later when he felt her furry fur pound into the side of his face.

"What is the purpose of this fight?" he asked, turning to face Renamon, who had landed right next to Rika.

"We met your friends, the Bakemon," Rika explained,"They told us about your plans for becoming a crime boss in this city. We are its protectors."

"Ah, so you are the famous Digimon Queen," Devidramon laughed,"I've heard stories of your strength."

"We're flattered," Renamon said,"Let's keep fighting, shall we?"

Devidramon laughed as he and Renamon dove back into battle.

Calumon looked around as he floated through the night sky. "Is this where Guillmon is?" he wondered, hovering over the highway. He glanced downward and saw metal box things roll down the street."Are those cars? They're really loud."

He suddenly heard a loud roar echo out from further down the highway. "Was that Guillmon? Hmm, I think I'll go find out." He stared hovering towards the sound of the roar, and, hopefully, Guillmon.

"""""""""""""""

Angewomon twirled around in the sky and planted her foot into Artemis's face, sending the Digital Hunter onto the ground. Artemis grabbed her daggers and flung them at the flying angel's face. Had Angewomon been further away, she could have blocked them successfully, but, all she was able to do was throw her arm up, which resulted in the daggers slicing her arm length glove, as well as her skin.

"Ouch! That hurt!" she shouted, grabbing her injured arm.

"Sorry about that," Artemis said, flipping over and onto her feet,"I wasn't aiming for your face, honest."

Tai raised his eyebrows. "She's telling the truth, isn't she?"

"I think so," Agumon agreed, watching Angewomon and Artemis battle,"I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something about her."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, her scent...it's...odd," Agumon shrugged,"That's the best way I can describe it."

Tai just nodded and turned his attention back to the battle. Artemis used her daggers to thrust at Angewomon's other arm. "I really don't want to hurt you, but this is your last chance: surrender peacefully, or I'll have to use extreme force."

Angewomon started laughing. "You're just a pitiful human! What can you possibly do?"

"This!" Artemis held up her fist, which began to glow a bright red, covered in flames. She slammed into Angewomon's stomach, sending her flying backwards into the outside of the building.

"Angewomon!" Tai shouted, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little woozy," the angel said, slowly climbing to her feet,"But don't worry, I'm not giving up."

"No, that's exactly what we're doing," Tai called out.

Both Angewomon and Artemis stopped and stared at him. "What?" they both shouted.

"This battle is pointless!" Tai shouted,"We've done nothing that would warrant the Digital Hunters coming after us."

"You're a criminal!"

"How?" Tai asked.

"I...uh...ah...um..." Artemis studdered, then glared at him,"I don't like you. Next time we meet, you're not getting away. Get out of here." She ran down the sidewalk in the other direction and vanished into the crowd.

Angewomon quickly picked up Tai and Agumon and flew up to the sky. "Well," Angewomon said,"We've figured out that she's as strong as me."

"As an Ultimate," Agumon corrected,"I doubt she would have lasted long against _me_!"

"Why did you stop the battle, anyway?" Anewomon asked the Master Digidestined.

"It was pointless," Tai said, looking away from Angewomon's gaze.

She smiled slightly, "You're sure its not because she might remind you of Kari?"

"What's that suppose to mean?" Tai shouted.

"Guys!" Agumon sighed,"I'm getting tired of separating you two!"

"She's started it," Tai mumbled.

"Did not!"

"""""""""""""""

"Who's that? She's good!" Calumon gasped as he watched Renamon and Devidramon dance in battle. He hovered onto one of the tree branches next to the battle field. His eyes opened wide as Renamon spun around in the air, slamming her foot into the side of Devidramon's snout. She used that foot as a pivot point and spun her other foot around to plant it into the other side of Devidramon's jaw. She squeezed as hard as she could to keep from sliding to the ground. Devidramon throw his claws up to throw her off, but Rika's digimon quickly slammed both of her fists into the tip of the dragon's nose, then pressed against the snout and twisted over to gracefully land on a lamp post.

"Excellent Renamon!" Rika shouted,"Don't let me down!"

"Never, Rika," Renamon said, as she jumped into the air to avoid Devidramon's swiping claw. Renamon landed on Devidramon's arms and charged up his arm and threw her arms apart when she reached his shoulder. "Diamond Storm!"

Devidramon hissed in pain. He quickly swung his tail up and slammed the fox into the pavement.

"Renamon!" Rika shouted,"Are you okay?"

"I've been better," Renamon panted as she jumped to her feet. She glanced up and saw Devidramon's tail heading towards her. She tried to roll out of the way, but she was still too groggy from being bashed into the pavement. Devidramon's tail grabbed her around her waist and threw her into the air where she was even with Devidramon's face.

"Renamon!" Guillmon shouted.

Takato turned to his partner,"We've got to help her."

The dinosaur nodded. "I'm on it!" He charged into the battle field, then jumped into the air and slammed his head into Devidramon's stomach, causing him to drop Renamon.

"Who are you?" Devidramon growled, staring at Guilmon,"I've traveled all corners of the Digital World, and I've never seen a digimon like you before."

"He's new!" Takato shouted,"I created him."

"What a show off," Rika muttered, as she quickly ran over to help her digimon partner over to the side line.

"Created?" Devidramon laughed,"Are you a god, little boy?"

Takato growled. "Attack, Guillmon!"

The dinosaur's mouth open wide and fired a ball of red energy into Devidramon's chin. Takato grabbed his deck of cards. "Digi-modify: Hyper Wings Activate."

On his tree branch, Calumon's ears grew out of his head,"Go Guillmon!"

Two pairs of white wings appeared on Guillmon's back, and he used them to fly into the air until he was level with the dragon's snout. "Pyro Sphere!" Devidramon knew Guillmon's attack this time, so he was able to block it with the back of his hand. The dragon used his other fist to pound Guillmon into the same lamp post that Renamon was perched on only five minutes earlier.

"Guillmon!" Takato shouted,"Are you alright?"

"Sure thing, Takato-mon," Guillmon coughed as he jumped back onto his feet,"I'm still okay enough to beat him!"

"Don't bet on it!" Devidramon laughed as he used his tail to flick Guillmon into one of the support beams for the highway above."

"Guillmon!" Takato shouted,"Guillmon!"

"Guillmon," Calumon said, sadly, his ears shrinking back into his head,"I sure hope he's okay." Slowly the upside-down triangle on his forehead glowed slightly.

Guillmon's eyes suddenly shot open. "Guillmon digivolve to...Growlmon!"

As the new champion digimon stood proudly in front of the dragon invader, everyone watching had their mouths wide open, everyone except for Calumon. "Yeah Guillmon!"

Takato opened and closed his mouth a few times before he found his voice. "Gu..Growlmon?"

Rika growled. "_He_ has a Champion now? Why does the universe keep doing this to us?"

Renamon turned towards her partner. "Rika, I'm suddenly feeling a surge of energy..."

Growlmon dove at Devidramon before the dragon could react. He grabbed his arms and pinned him against the supports for the highway bridge. "Pyro Blaster!" he shouted, drenching Devidramon's chest in flames.

The dragon shouted out in pain. He flung his tail up, but Growlmon slammed his head into Devidramon's already injured chest, which caused his tail to drop. Growlmon jumped back, and Devidramon slid to the ground. "Finish this!" Takato shouted.

"You've got it, Tamer!" Growlmon shouted, jumping into the air, planting his feet, once again, on Devidramon's burnt chest.

"Stop!" the dragon threw up his open palms,"I give up! I yield."

Takato ran forward to stand by his partner's side. "I heard the Digimon Queen say you came here to become a crime boss."

"Yes," Devidramon nodded.

"Then leave," Takato ordered,"Go back to the other side, never come back."

Devidramon nodded,"Yes.. yes..I will." He slowly got to his feet, but something caught the corner of his eye;a stream of fire that tore through his chest, blasting him into his basic data.

Takato and his digimon spun around and saw Rika staring at him, with Renamon loading Devidramon's data. "What did you do that for!" he screamed.

"He was a digimon!" Rika reminded him, "Digimon destroy other digimon to load their data."

"They're more than just data!" Takato shouted,"They're alive, and you k..kill them."

Rika smirked,"Getting soft on me, Goggle head?"

"How can you destroy digimon so...easily?" Takato shouted, "That Devidramon was just like Renamon!"

"_He_ was nothing like me!" Kyuubimon snarled,"_He_ was invading this city, I am trying to protect it."

"Getting stronger too!" Growlmon hissed.

Kyuubimon smiled,"If that comes from it, then so be it."

Rika crossed her arms and was going to tell Takato off, when she felt something pulling on her leg. She twirled down and saw a white creature grabbing the bottom of her jeans. "What the...?"

Calumon's ears grew out from his head. "Hi, I'm Calumon!"

"Stay away from her, Calumon!" Takato warned.

Rika smirked, and kicked Calumon off of her leg. "Who cares about that pipsqueak Digimon!"

"Don't hurt him!" Takato shouted,"You don't have to be so...mean all of the time!"

"Don't lecture us!" Rika warned, jumping onto Kyuubimon's back, "You'd better spend your time loading some data of your own, because we still have a rematch!"

Takato was going to run after them, when he heard sirens sound out from within the city. "We'd better get out of here, Growlmon. Hey, where's Calumon?"

Growlmon quickly glanced around,"I don't know, I don't see him anywhere."

Another siren blasted, this time, much closer. "We'll have to look later. Come on."

"Right behind ya!" the large dinosaur shouted, following his partner out of the park.

""""""""""""""""

Tai frowned as he watched the evening news. "...and the battle tonight makes the second confirmed sighting of the Tamer with the goggles. He was seen battling the Digimon Queen. While police are unable to confirm what caused the battle, government agents have arrived on the scene and are conducting their own investigation. They have not confirmed anything, but they believe that a digimon had crossed over. Also, one of the government's Digital Hunters, Artemis, was seen in her own battle earlier this evening. Hypnos has not commented. In other news, Takanocka Nigwa, was killed earlier today..."

Tai clicked off the television. "First the Digimon Queen, and now this Goggle Tamer. Don't these kids know what they're getting into?"

"Their digimon have already digivolved," Agumon pointed out, jumping onto the couch next to Tai,"I think they're fairly strong."

"And where does this Tamer get off wearing goggles? _I_ started that!"

Gatomon sat down in front of the television."Yeah, and they don't look any better on him."

Tai ignored her and lightly rubbed his chin,"And another executive of an electronic company died. That's two." He shivered slightly,"According to Ice Devimon, only three more, but what happens then?" He sighed,"I don't think I want to know."

to be continued...

Author's notes: The story Tai was reading to his class was, 'Beowulf', one of my favorite tales.

Sorry, but I do not have any plans to bring any other digidestined into the story. This is not a season 2/season 3 crossover. It's more of Season 3 featuring Tai..

As for what happened to Kari, I think there are enough clues to figure it out, but I was that to be one of the things that Tai and Takato will talk about later. You know, bonding stuff.


	5. Guardians: Chapter 3

_Last time:_

_"Where is this..Devidramon?" Rika asked._

_"He..he hasn't crossed over yet? He sent us forward to prepare for him."_

_Rika nodded,"When is he planning on arriving?"_

_"I...I can't.."_

_"Listen," Rika said,"Either you die when he gets here, or you die now! Talk to me, and I won't hurt you."_

_The Bakemon considered this,"He's going to appear tomorrow night, eight o'clock."_

_"Thank you," Rika said, jumping off of her digimon,"Now, Kyuubimon, send this guy to meet his maker."_

_The Bakemon's eyes opened wide,"But you promised you wouldn't hurt me!"_

_As Kyuubimon prepared to fire her Fox Tail Inferno, Rika chuckled, "I lied!"_

_The goggle wearing Tamer ducked to avoid being hit by one of the threads, but Guillmon was caught into he giant web that formed over the section of the park. "Guillmon!" he screamed._

_"Don't worry, Takato," the red dinosaur said as he struggled to break free of the spider's wbe,"I'm alright and I'm going to win!" His bravado was obliviously fake, as his wings vanished. _

_"Guillmon!" Takato shouted._

_Dogukumon was laughing viciously, but suddenly she stopped. The web lines dissolved and Guillmon fell freely to the ground. Takato spun around and saw that Dogukumon was gone and in her place stood Kyuubimon with Rika riding her. Takato was horrified, "You...you killed Dogukumon!"_

_Terriermon's long ears transformed into Patamon's bat wing ears. He started flapping them at an incredible rate. He flew after Vilemon, aiming for another attack,"Bunny Blast!"_

_Vilemon dodge out of the way again, and slammed his fist into Terriermon's face, crashing him into the ground. "Ha!" he laughed, as the dog digimon slowly got back onto his feet,"I could stay and play with you all day, but I've got bigger fish to fry. Later!" He flew out of the Digital Field, which vanished after he was out of range._

_Jenrya gasped slightly at the small creature bounding around Guillmon's small hideout. "This is..a digimon?"_

_"Yup!" Calumon laughed, dancing up and down,"Who are you?_

_Artemis started laughing. "I can't wait to see the look on Orion's face when I capture the Master Digidestined!"_

_Tai chuckled slightly,"You honesty think you'll be able to defeat us? A woman with a pair of knives? Ha!"_

_Artemis growled and grabbed her daggers. "Let's go!"_

_Guillmon's eyes suddenly shot open. "Guillmon digivolve to...Growlmon!"_

_As the new champion digimon stood proudly in front of the dragon invader, everyone watching had their mouths wide open, everyone except for Calumon. "Yeah Guillmon!"_

_Devidramon nodded,"Yes.. yes..I will." He slowly got to his feet, but something caught the corner of his eye;a stream of fire that tore through his chest, blasting him into his basic data._

_Takato and his digimon spun around and saw Rika staring at him, with Renamon loading Devidramon's data. "What did you do that for!" he screamed._

_"He was a digimon!" Rika reminded him, "Digimon destroy other digimon to load their data."_

_"They're more than just data!" Takato shouted,"They're alive, and you k..kill them."_

_Rika smirked,"Getting soft on me, Goggle head?"_

_"How can you destroy digimon so...easily?" Takato shouted, "That Devidramon was just like Renamon!"_

_"He was nothing like me!" Kyuubimon snarled,"He was invading this city, I am trying to protect it."_

_Tai ignored her and lightly rubbed his chin,"And another executive of an electronic company died. That's two." He shivered slightly,"According to Ice Devimon, only three more, but what happens then?" He sighed,"I don't think I want to know."_

**December 10, 2015**

The Book of Guardians:

Chapter 3

Jenrya blocked the soccer ball with the side of his foot seconds before it crossed the goal line. He quickly picked the white and black ball and glanced around at the people on his team. Since this was only a small, after school game, there were only four people: Kazu was standing in front of the goal box, Takato was the forward, and Kenta was standing between them. Jenrya knew he was not going to be able to kick very far, he flung it at Kazu, who passed it to Kenta, who then passed it to Takato. With their leader in possession of the ball, the other two boys ran up to protect him as they ran up to the other team's goal.

Takato easily kept the ball in front of him as he ran up the school's soccer field. He heard people cheering for him. He glanced to the sideline and saw Jeri and Miki clapping for them. He grinned and started running even faster.

Kazu, Kenta and Takato had now reached the players on the other team. Takato passed the ball to Kenta as he ran past the red headed boy on the other team. Kenta passed the ball back to him, and he passed it to Kazu. The visor-wearing boy managed to make it past the two other teammates, but that still left the goalie. He was not going to be able to score before the goalie reached him, so his passed it to Takato. The light brown haired boy moved in position to score, but he felt something grab his left. He tripped on the ball and fell face first into a pile of mud.

He heard the four boys on the other team start roaring with laughter. Takato raised his head to the sidelines. Miki was laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach. He did not really care about Miki, that was how she always acted. He saw the look of concern on Jeri's face. "Takato!" she shouted,"Are you okay?" He was about to get up, when his foot slid along the ground, and he found himself back in the mud. Kenta and Kazu helped him to his feet, but the other team was still laughing..

Takato turned around and saw the red headed kid was roaring with laughter. _He_ pulled his foot. It was _his_ fault that he was no covered in mud. Takato felt his anger swarm up inside of him. He broke out of Kenta and Kazu's grip and launched at the red head boy, throwing him to the ground. He raised his fist, ready to crush the other boy's nose, but by that time Jenrya had run up from the other side of the field. He was able to grab Takato's fist, stopping the punch.

"Takato!" Jenrya shouted, pulling him away from the red-headed boy,"Takato! Easy..it's just a game! Calm down!"

Takato took a few deep breaths, then glared at the red-headed boy. He looked at Jenrya, then over his shoulder at Jeri. She had a horrified look on her face. Takato turned away, then ran off of the field.

Miss Isage watched the incident from the window of Tai's classroom. She turned to look at the teacher, who was watching a few windows down. "Did you see that?"

Tai nodded, sadly. "Yes," he sighed,"I've been watching for a while now. Takato has a problem controlling his anger. I don't know what to do for him, when I see him like that it...it reminds me of myself."

Miss Isage walked over and placed her hands around Tai's shoulder,"What do you mean?"

"_I_ was like him, angry all the time, until..." he shook his head,"It's in the past."

"""""""""""""""""""

Riley and Tally smelt the familiar aroma of cigarette's enter Hypnos's control room. "Good evening sir," Tally said, "How are you tonight?"

Yamaki breathed out a stream of smoke. "The board of directors is _not_ happy with our progress. And now I've got Hakkado breathing down my neck."

"What do they want, sir?"

"They want a captured digimon," Yamaki sighed,"We'll have to try and deliver."

The red alert started blasting. "We've got a Wild One!" Riley said, her fingers dancing across her keyboard,"I've got its location."

"Miss Onodera," Yamaki said,"Who's closest?"

"Orion sir."

"Send the location. Tell him _not_ to terminate. We need this one alive."

"Yes sir!"

""""""""""""""

The Digital Hunter jumped from building to building as he charged deep into the city. Tally's last message seemed to indicate that the Wild One was circulating the city, almost like he was searching for someone.

Orion glanced at the small tracking device on his right arm. The Wild One was only a few blocks ahead of him, but what was that second dot? He was answered when a large figure stomped down the road below him. Orion gasped,"T..That was a dinosaur! No, that was a Digimon." He lightly rubbed the bottom part of his metal helmet. "That was the digimon that fought that Devidramon last night, the one with that Goggle Tamer. He's probably going after the Wild One." He grinned,"This could get interesting."

"""""""""""""""""

Tai silently stared up at the two massive towers in front of him. He had always suspected that these towers had something to do with the all the digital activity that had been occurring the past few years, now he was certain. Artemis was his only lead to the mysterious Hypnos organization and he had tracked her back to this building. What really shocked him, was that this was the place where his class took their class trip. That beam that hit Takato, did it do something to him? The doctors said that Takato was in perfect health, but still, that beam had to have done something. He was going to find out.

"Excuse me, but you are the Master Digidestined, right?"

Tai spun to the right. A teenaged boy wearing a red mask was standing there, with a dog/bunny creature at his feet. "You are the Master Digidestined, aren't you?" the boy asked again,"You have two digimon standing there. I figure that they're yours, which means the rumors are true, the Master Digidestined of Tokyo has two partners."

Gatomon and Agumon glanced up at their human partner. Tai mentioned to the dog/rabbit creature,"A Terriermon, huh? I've seen you on the news You were there that night the first executive died."

The boy nodded,"And you fought the Digimon Queen." He mentioned to the massive building across the street. "I take it you're attempting to break into there?"

Tai crossed his arms,"What if I am?"

"I'd like to join you. There's something strange going on with those towers, I'd like to know what."

Tai considered for a few minutes, then nodded."Alright, but you'd better be able to hold you own."

"Fair enough."

"What should I call you?" Tai asked, thankful that his own mask was covering his face. He had learned his lesson from his battle with Artemis.

"Whatever you want!" Terriermon laughed, jumping onto the boy's shoulder,"Let's go!"

""""""""""""""""""

Orion hid in the shadows of the rooftops as he watched the Goggle Tamer jump off of the red dinosaur-which his suit's computer registered as Growlmon. He turned his attention to the digimon that had appeared in front of them. He did not need his computer to tell him who this digimon was, he remembered him, Musyamon.

Takato's D-Arc finished telling him the same. "Musyamon, huh?" Takato asked, "Okay, Musyamon, why are you here?"

The demon pulled his sword from its holder and held it so Takato and Growlmon could see. "My business is my own! Now, move out of the way, before you are hurt."

"I'm not going to let you go on a killing spree!" Growlmon glared.

Musyamon slid his sword back into it's place. "I am not going on a killing spree," he laughed,"I am searching for only prey: The Master Digidestined!"

Takato gasped,"What?"

Orion raised his eyebrow. "The Master Digidestined?"

Musyamon grinned,"Now, if you excuse me!" He charged at Takato and Growlmon, then jumped onto Growlmon's head, then disappeared.

"He's gone!" Growlmon shouted.

"We've got to go after him!" Takato jumped back onto Growlmon,"We've got to go after him. Hurry!"

Orion watched the Tamer and his partner charge after Musyamon. "The Master Digidestined, huh?" he asked himself,"Musyamon seems to know where he is. That would make a much better prize for Yamaki." Orion laughed as he ran after Musyamon,"Tonight, Master Digidestined, you are my prey!"

""""""""""""""""""

Tai, Jenrya and their digimon quietly moved through the air vents, trying not to cause any undo attention to themselves. They had no idea whether there was any motion sensors or even video camera in the vents. Tai breathed out a breath he did not realize he was holding. He peeked through the grating. There was too many people walking through that hallway, they would have to find another exit.

"Hey," Jenrya whispered,"Do you know where you're going?"

"No!" Tai hissed back,"I'm just trying to find a exit grate to an empty hallway." He paused in front of one of the grates,"Here we go." He slammed the grate with his foot, knocking it free. "Come on."

The group jumped down to the floor. Tai glanced around,"Now, do we chose left or right?"

"""""""""""""""""""

Takato slowly paced across the roof top. "How long is he going to stay there?"

Guillmon glanced across the street to the roof where Musyamon was standing. The demon digimon was staring at one of the apartments in the building adjacent to the one he was standing on. "It looks like he wants something in that house."

"Apartment," Takato corrected, moving towards the ledge,"And you're right. That must be where the Master Digidestined lives." Takato could not help but smile,"Wow, the Master Digidestined! Do you think he's home?"

"No lights are on," Guillmon pointed out.

"You're right, and its early in the evening, so he's probably not asleep," Takato said, knelling down,"Come on, Musyamon! Make a move already!" He smiled slightly, reciting a poem that he had heard Mr. Kamiya tell the class,"Enter my parlor..."

"...said the spider to the fly!"

Takato and Guillmon spun around and saw a figure dressed in a full suit of armor. "W..who are you?" Takato asked.

"I am Orion, a Digital Hunter of Hypnos, and you are going to tell me the identity of the Master Digidestined."

Takato struggled to find his voice. "W..what? Why are you looking for him?"

Orion just stared at him. "Who is the Master Digidestined?"

Takato shook his head,"I...I don't know. We're all trying to find out who he is, too!"

Orion was silent as he continued to stare at him. Takato stared back at him. The goggle-headed Tamer was trying to decide how strong Orion could possibly be; should he run, or fight? Takato figured that Orion was probably just a regular human, which meant that his suit had to give him power. If his digimon partner could just destroy the circuitry or something, he could defeat the most powerful Digital Hunter in the city! The Digimon Queen would be so jealous!

Orion glared at Takato. "Well, maybe you don't know who the Master Digidestined is, but that is not going to stop me from finding him tonight! Musyamon seems to know, I think I'll ask him!" The Digital Hunter was about to jump off the ledge, when Guillmon jumped in front of him.

The Hunter glared down at the small dinosaur. "What are you doing?"

"We can't let you find the Master Digidestined!" Takato shouted..

"Move out of the way, now!"

"I'm not moving!" Guillmon growled.

Orion started laughing. "You honestly think that you can stop me? Ha ha ha ha!"

"We're not laughing!" Takato shouted,"You've got to got through _us_ first!"

Orion laughed even harder. He uncrossed his arms and held them wide open. "Come and get me!"

Guillmon leapt forward and slammed his head into Orion's stomach, trying to throw the Digital Hunter onto his back. Unfortunately, all the dinosaur succeeded in doing was giving himself a very painful bump on the noggin.

"Guillmon!" Takato shouted,"Are you okay?"

"Sure, Takato-mon," the red dinosaur said, stumbling around,"I..I'm alright."

Orion chuckled,"Let someone who has been doing this for a lot longer give you a piece of advice, when your opponent has a suit of armor, don't head-butt them!"

Guillmon launched on top of Orion, throwing him off balance enough to toss him to the ground. The Digital Hunter slammed his fist into the dinosaur's stomach. He then grabbed Guilmon's stomach and threw him into the roof. He jumped into the air, then slammed his elbow into Guilmon's stomach.

"Guilmon! No!" Takato shouted. He instinctively ran over to his fallen friend's side, but Orion backhanded him into a small antenna. The goggle headed Tamer slowly got to his feet, but the Digital Hunter quickly jumped over and lifted him into the air by the back of his shirt.

"This is a dangerous game you're playing, boy," Orion whispered into Takato's ear. He glanced across the street and saw that Musyamon was leaving. He chuckled slightly,"I guess the Master Digidestined _isn't_ here. Give up this game now, or next time we met, I will _not_ allow you to leave." Orion flung Takato to the ground, then ran after Musyamon.

Guilmon sat up and shook his head. "Wow, that Orion guy really knows how to..Takato!" He ran over to his fallen Tamer,"Takato!"

"G..Guillmon," Takato moaned, slowly climbing onto Guilmon's back.

"Don't worry, Takato-mon," Guilmon said,"I'll take you home."

"N..no," Takato said, struggling to stay conscious,"I...I won't make it."

"Where should I go?"

"I..I'll give you directions. H..hurry, Guilmon."

"""""""""""""

Tai pulled the collar of his trench coat around his face to hide his mask. He glanced over his shoulder,"How are you guys doing?"

"How do you think I'm doing?" Terriermon mumbled from underneath Jenrya's jacket. The black haired Tamer hissed at him to be quiet. Agumon just shrugged from his jacket and Gatomon groaned something from inside of Tai's jacket.

Tai suddenly grabbed the others and jumped inside of a janitor's closet. "What is it?" Jenrya asked. Tai silence the young Tamer, then opened the door a crack. He watched as a group of adults walked past the closet and turned a corner.

"I think it's a tour or something," Tai whispered back,"Maybe we can learn something. Come on."

The group quickly ran out of the closet and blended into the back of the small group. Considering on the clothes they were wearing, the group appeared to be very wealthy. They were probably shareholders or stock owners here to see what they were paying for. Luckily Tai and his group were far enough behind the group that the tour guide could not see them.

The group walked through the hallways until they passed through two glass doors that lead them into a large laboratory. The walls were pure white, connected to large computer consoles. Black wires ran across the floor, connected to the consoles and something under a white cloth in the center of the room.

"I think we hit the mother load, sir!" Jenrya whispered.

"I know," Tai whispered, grinning under his mask,"This has _got _to be the headquarters of Hypnos! It's got to be!"

"Great!" came Gatomon's muffled voice,"Can we leave now?"

"Not just yet," Tai said,"I want to see what's under that sheet."

The chattering in the crowd stopped as a blond man with dark sunglasses walked into the lab and in front of the white sheet. "Ladies and Gentlemen, honored share holders, I hope that what you have seen so far has proven to you that we are putting your funding to good use."

"We are more concerned with results, Mr. Yamaki," a man wearing a military uniform said.

"I assure you, General, what I'm about to show you will guarantee a successful captured," Yamaki smiled. He nodded to a young woman in a lab coat, who removed the sheet,"I present to you, Yuggoth!"

"""""""""""""""

Takato winced slightly as he felt the sting from the iodine on his open wounds. "Oh, that hurt!"

"Well, you can fix yourself up next time!"

Takato looked up at Jeri, who had crossed her arms, the iodine and cotton swaps still in her hands. He turned away from her gaze and caught an eyeful of the boy band posters that were on the walls of her room. "All right, I'm sorry," he said,"This was the first time I got my butt handed to me! Sorry."

Jeri just shrugged, it was not the apology she was looking for, but it would have to do. She placed the medicine down, then started wrapping Takato's cuts and bruises with bandages. "You're just lucky my parents aren't home," she said,"They would have had a fit."

"I wasn't going to make it home," Takato said, staring at the floor.

"I know," Jeri said, tying the bandages together,"_I_ fixed you up, didn't I?"

"Yeah, thanks," Takato smiled slightly, admiring the job that Jeri did.

Jeri turned to the look at the form in the corner of her room. "Um, what about your...your..uh..Digimon?"

Takato laughed slightly,"Don't worry, Guillmon won't hurt you. You can ask him yourself."

The girl just nodded and walked over to the dinosaur.. "Um..a..are you o...okay?"

Guillmon nodded. "Yeah, Digimon heal fast. I'm fine."

Jeri just nodded. She heard Takato get up from her bed. "What are you doing?"

"Thank you, Jeri, but I have to go back out..."

"No!" Jeri shouted, wrapping her arms around Takato's shoulders,"You can't!"

"I have to!" Takato said,"Orion and Musyamon _both_ are after the Master Digidestined. I have to stop them."

"But you don't even know who the Master Digidestined is!"

"That doesn't matter!" Takato shouted,"Look, from what Jenrya and the Digimon Queen told me, the Master Digidestined is one of the original Digidestined, which makes him probably a _thousand_ times stronger than I am, but he doesn't know that Musyamon and Orion are after him. Just maybe I can save him, and then get some answers."

Jeri stared at him with a worried glanced for a few seconds, then broke into a smile. "What?" Takato asked.

Jeri's smile grew,"Just wait there for a second." She walked over to her desk and pulled something out."Here, so you don't get recognized."

"A mask?" he asked.

Jeri nodded. "Yup, I made it myself. Put it on."

Takato pulled the fabric over his head, staring at Jeri through the eyeholes. "I love it! Thanks!"

Jeri hugged him,"Be careful, okay?"

Takato grinned at her. "I will, thanks. Come on, Guillmon!" The dinosaur ran over to join his partner. They both jumped out the window and disappeared.

""""""""""""""""

Calumon hummed to himself as he floated through the dark air vents that Tai and Jenrya had moved through only seconds before. The small digimon spied one of the many grates. "Hmm, what's all those people doing there?"

He floated over and stared into the laboratory. His gaze shifted down the the figures at the very back of the crowd. "Hey, isn't that Jenrya? And that guy that was fighting that mean girl! What are they doing here?"

Yuggoth was definitely a robotic creation, cast in human form. It was covered in metal skin, with long sharp claws where it hands would be, and its red eyes seemed to stare into the hearts of everyone in the crowd. Yamaki was pleased by the gasps of the crowd. "Yuggoth, Hypnos Systems Model Y-101. Yuggoth has titanium armor and claws. It has the capability to jump one hundred feet, withstand 500 pounds per square inch, but most importantly, Yuggoth's sensors are capable of detecting digital energy emitted from every digimon, and every digital human."

"Uh oh," Terrerimon mutter from underneath his Tamer's shirt.

"I think it would be a good idea to leave, sir," Jenrya whispered.

Tai started to back to the door,"I was just thinking the same thing. Let's go."

Yamaki nodded to the woman in the lab coat. "And now, we will create our own digital signal and switch Yuggoth on for a demonstration."

Tai, Jenrya, and their digimon could not turn away as they watched Yuggoth's red eyes glow brighter. The robot started twisting its head from side to side, then focused on the digital group huddled near the door. It suddenly started running towards them. Yamaki shouted,"Turn it off!"

"It's not responding, sir," the woman in the lab coat said.

Tai threw off his trench coat, which caused Gatomon to drop to the floor. "We're busted kid! Let's see what you can do."

Jenrya nodded, and removed his jacket, freeing Terriermon. "Are you sure this is absolutely necessary, sir?"

"They're not going to let us leave now," Agumon pointed out.

The crowd of people started screaming as they ran from the room. Yamaki could not believe it. "_Two_ digimon partners! You're the Master Digidestined! Yuggoth, finish them!"

The robotic creature nodded at Yamaki, before the Hypnos commander ran out of the room then charged towards the digital being. Tai looked at his digimon. "Agumon, if you digivolved, you'd crush us. Gatomon, it's up to you again." He held out the pink digivice,"Go!"

"Gatomon digivolve to Angewomon!"

From his hiding place inside of the air vents, Calumon cheered as the angel shot across the room, her arm against Yuggoth's chin, slamming him into the other wall. Yuggoth brought it's arm up and slapped Angewomon's arm away. It pounded it's other fist into the angel's face, throwing her back. It jumped up landed on Angewomon's stomach. She yelped out of pain, then head-butted it off.

Jenrya twirled to his digimon partner. "Give her a hand!"

"How?" the dog asked,"If you haven't noticed, she's an ultimate, what am I going to do?"

Jenrya took out his modify cards,"Just go."

"Alright," Terriermon ran into battle.

Jenrya flipped through his cards,"Ah, here we go. Digi-modify! Wargreymon's Grey Shield Activate!"

The massive shield appeared in Terriermon's hands. He turned around and grinned at Jenrya. "Now I get it!" He turned back around and used the shield to push Yuggoth off of Angewomon. He moved the soiled and pointed his mouth at the robot. "Bunny Blast!" Terriermon's energy balls bounced easily off of Yuggoth's metal armor. The robot swiped at Terriermon with his claws, but Jenrya's digimon used the shield to stop the attack. By that time, Angewomon had recovered enough to grab Yuggoth by the arm and swing it into the corner of the room. The machine man recovered and tackled both digimon to the ground.

"We're really in trouble, aren't we?" Jenrya glanced at Tai.

The Master Digidestined glanced down at Agumon. "I still have my trump card, but I don't want to play that until I absolutely need to."

Jenrya just nodded, then turned back to the battle. Angewomon was on the ground with Yuggoth standing over her. Terriermon executed his Terrier Tornado, but it had no effect against the metal skin of the robot. The small dog tried to head-butt Yuggoth, but it backhanded him into the floor.

"Terriermon!" Jenrya shouted.

Watching the battle from the air vent, Calumon gasped. "Oh no! Terriermon!" The small triangle on his head started glow.

Back inside the laboratory, a bright light blasted from Jenrya's belt. "My D-Arc!" he gasped,"What's going on?"

Tai gasped as well. "Your digimon's digivolving."

"Terriermon digivolve to...Gargomon!"

Jenrya's mouth was open wide. "T..that's Terriermon! I..I don't believe it!"

Gargomon pointed his gun barrels at Yuggoth. "Step away from the lady! Now!" Yuggoth's did not move. "This is your last chance!" Still nothing. "Fine, Gargo Pellets!" Gargomon started firing a barrage of bullets at the robot, which bounced harmlessly off of its metal skin. The Champion just shrugged, then slammed into Yuggoth's face, throwing him off of Angewomon.

"Thanks," she panted.

"No problem," he said, pointing his guns at Yuggoth,"I'm ready to try again."

"No!" Angewomon shouted,"We can pierce his armor like that, we need to try something else..great, here it comes."

Yugoth slammed his fist into Angewomon's face, then backhanded Gargomon as he ran up behind him. Angewomon jumped up to execute a roundhouse, but Yuggoth blocked it with his arm. The angel woman once again left herself off balance and vulnerable. The robot slammed his fist into Angewomon's stomach, sending her flying across the room. She quickly grabbed her scarf and pulled it tight. She ricochet off the wall and slashed the tight fabric across Yuggoth's neck before landing on the other side of the room.

"Gargomon!" she shouted,"There's an opening!"

"Gotcha!" Gargomon shouted. He charged forward and threw the robot to the ground. He planted his feet on its chest and quickly pointed both of his gun barrels at the slash that Angewomon created along Yuggoth's neck. "Gargo Pellets!"

The stream of bullets ripped into Yuggoth's neck, tearing the circuitry apart. The red glow of Yuggoth's eyes faded. Gargomon started dancing as he shrunk back to Terrerimon. "All right! I am the best! No crummy robot is going to beat me! Ha!"

Sirens started blasting through the building. "We've got to get out of here!" Tai shouted,"Come on kid, run to the window! Hurry!"

Jenrya grabbed Terriermon and followed Tai, Agumon, and Angewomon to the window. The angel woman blasted through the window. Tai grabbed Jenrya and dove out after her.

"What are you doing?" Jenrya screamed as they fell towards the ground.

"Watch!" Tai laughed, holding out the pink digivice again,"Angewomon!" The angel shrunk back to Gatomon, then a white light shot of the digivice and into Gatomon. "Gatomon..armor digivolve to Nefterimon!" Tai, Agumon, Jenrya, and Terriermon landed on her back.

"I always have everything under control!" Tai laughed.

"""""""""""""""""""

Orion stopped his trek through the park. He had been following his query through the wooded area, but the trail was suddenly gone, like he had disappeared from the face of the Earth. His sensors had just registered: someone's scent was in the air...behined him!

He twirled around just in time to see Musyamon drop to the ground from high in the trees. "You have been pursuing me since the Master Digidestined's lair."

Orion smiled slightly under his mask,"I am also searching for the Master Digidestined, fellow hunter.."

"I hunt alone!" Musyamon shouted,"And the Master Digidestined is my prey tonight!"

Orion opened his fists,"So, if that is the way you want it."

The two fighters were about to leap into battle, but at that instant Takato and Growlmon appeared. The Digimon was silent as he charged between the two fighters. "Guys!" Takato shouted,"You were about to start the party without me? Growlmon, show them how upset we are."

The other three were not amused at Takato's attempts at humor, even the goggle wearing Tamer was embarrassed at himself. The group silently decided to ignore the Tamer's sarcasm and jump straight into battle. Growlmon backhanded Orion into the ground. He turned to Musyamon,"I won't stand long against Orion, but I know you're the same level as me."

Musyamon took out his sword and let it reflect the moonlight. "I'm not so easy to defeat." He slashed his sword across the dinosaur's wrist, causing him to yelp in pain. "See what I mean?"

Growlmon was about to tackle Musyamon, when Takato shouted to him. "Growlmon, duck!"

The dinosaur quickly ducked to avoid Orion's jab, which went straight over Growlmon's head, and into Musyamon. The Digital Hunter could not stop his momentum in time and both he and Musyamon were thrown to the ground. Growlmon shot his blade from his elbow. He was about to execute a pile driver with his blade, but Orion rolled out of the way, leaving Musyamon vulnerable. The demon was able to slightly move out of the way, Growlmon's blade shooting between Musyamon's arm and the rest of his body. The demon was not injured by the blade, but Growlmon's pile driver did cause his enough pain to pass out. The dinosaur jumped back on his feet and glared at Orion.

The Digital Hunter laughed as he stared at the large dinosaur and his Tamer. He had a hunting knife in his right hand, glistening in the moonlight. "I can kill you easily, you know that, yet, you are still willing to fight me?"

"We're not going to let you find the Master Digidestined!" Takato shouted,"And we'll fight you to the very end."

There was a long silence before Orion chuckled. "Of course you would, that's the way you heroes are...a way _I_ might have been, a way I could have been." He slid the hunting knife back into its holder,"The hunt has ended. Good battle, Tamer." He launched himself into the trees.

"Should I go after him?" Growlmon asked.

"No," Takato shook his head,"I believe him, plus, we've got Musya...he's gone too, great."

"What should we do, Takato?" Growlmon asked.

"Musyamon looked pretty injured to me," Takato sighed,"I don't think he'll be bothering us tonight."

Musyamon ran through the park, breathing heavily. "That..that damn kid and his stupid dinosaur! I'm going to kill them...right after I find the Master Digidestined! All of them...they're going to die!"

"I think you're going to have to much more to worry about."

Musyamon glanced up and saw a red-headed girl riding atop a large fox. "I am the Digimon Queen, this is Renamon." She grinned, "Now, let's see how strong you are."

Early the next morning, Takato and Guilmon were walking through a path in the park. The Tamer like to spend time with his digimon friend every morning, it made their relationship seem more like friendship then a master/pet relationship. Takato was trying to think of a way to hide Guilmon in his house, but he was still working the kinks out of that one.

"That was some night last night, huh?" Takato asked with a slight smile.

"Yeah, but maybe we should lay low for a little while," Guilmon said,"I don't want to carry your unconscious body across the city again."

Takato chuckled. "I'll leave the fighting to you from now on." He sighed,"Plus, I..."

"You what?" Guilmon asked, glancing up at his partner. Takato was frozen, staring straight forward. The dinosaur turned to look in the same direction and saw a man staring at the pair with his mouth wide open.

"Mr. Kamiya!" Takato shouted,"I...I..." He suddenly grabbed Guilmon's arm and ran into thick trees of the park.

"Takato?" Tai asked.


	6. Guardians: Chapter 4

_Takato turned around and saw the red headed kid was roaring with laughter. He pulled his foot. It was his fault that he was no covered in mud. Takato felt his anger swarm up inside of him. He broke out of Kenta and Kazu's grip and launched at the red head boy, throwing him to the ground. He raised his fist, ready to crush the other boy's nose, but by that time Jenrya had run up from the other side of the field. He was able to grab Takato's fist, stopping the punch._

_"Takato!" Jenrya shouted, pulling him away from the red-headed boy,"Takato! Easy..it's just a game! Calm down!"_

_Miss Isage watched the incident from the window of Tai's classroom. She turned to look at the teacher, who was watching a few windows down. "Did you see that?"_

_Tai nodded, sadly. "Yes," he sighed,"I've been watching for a while now. Takato has a problem controlling his anger. I don't know what to do for him, when I see him like that it...it reminds me of myself."_

_Miss Isage walked over and placed her hands around Tai's shoulder,"What do you mean?"_

_"I was like him, angry all the time, until..." he shook his head,"It's in the past."_

_Orion watched the Tamer and his partner charge after Musyamon. "The Master Digidestined, huh?" he asked himself,"Musyamon seems to know where he is. That would make a much better prize for Yamaki." Orion laughed as he ran after Musyamon, "Tonight, Master Digidestined, you are my prey!"_

_Jenrya just nodded, then turned back to the battle. Angewomon was on the ground with Yuggoth standing over her. Terriermon executed his Terrier Tornado, but it had no effect against the metal skin of the robot. The small dog tried to head-butt Yuggoth, but it backhanded him into the floor._

_"Terriermon!" Jenrya shouted._

_Watching the battle from the air vent, Calumon gasped. "Oh no! Terriermon!" The small triangle on his head started glow._

_Back inside the laboratory, a bright light blasted from Jenrya's belt. "My D-Arc!" he gasped,"What's going on?"_

_Tai gasped as well. "Your digimon's digivolving."_

_"Terriermon digivolve to...Gargomon!"_

_"We're not going to let you find the Master Digidestined!" Takato shouted,"And we'll fight you to the very end."_

_There was a long silence before Orion chuckled. "Of course you would, that's the way you heroes are...a way I might have been, a way I could have been." He slid the hunting knife back into its holder,"The hunt has ended. Good battle, Tamer." He launched himself into the trees._

_Takato chuckled. "I'll leave the fighting to you from now on." He sighed,"Plus, I..."_

_"You what?" Guilmon asked, glancing up at his partner. Takato was frozen, staring straight forward. The dinosaur turned to look in the same direction and saw a man staring at the pair with his mouth wide open._

_"Mr. Kamiya!" Takato shouted,"I...I..." He suddenly grabbed Guilmon's arm and ran into thick trees of the park._

_"Takato?" Tai asked._

**December 11, 2015**

The Book of Guardians

Chapter 4

Musyamon cleared his throat as he addressed the other digimon seated around the table. "Thank you for coming this morning: Vilemon, Harpymon, Dark Lizardmon. I have called you all here because we have a problem."

"What?" Harpymon asked.

Musyamon tossed a photo into the center of the table. "Her."

"Her?" Vilemon asked,"You're scared of a little girl?"

Musyamon slammed his fist onto the table,"That is not a little girl, that is the Digimon Queen!"

The three others gasped. "T..the Digimon Q..Queen?"

"Yes," the demon said,"She has already killed Devidramon, Dokugumon...and I..." he stared down,"Even _I_ have been humiliated by her. We must do something, before it is too late for all of us!"

"I agree." Dark Lizardmon said. The two other nodded as well. "What is your plan?"

""""""""""""""

Takato nervously sat behind his desk in school. He was having a very hard time paying attention to the lesson that was being taught. He stared at his teacher. _"Look at him. Mr. Kamiya's acting so calm and cool. There's no way he didn't see Guilmon this morning. I was right there! Did he already call the police, or is he waiting until I crack? That's it. He wants to wait until I crack first. Well, I'm not going to..yeah, I'm calm and cool. There's even a chill up my spine..."_

He continued to stare forward. Tai was writing a math problem on the board. Jeri reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. He almost jumped through the ceiling. The brown haired girl whispered to him,"Takato, are you okay?"

He took a few deep breaths to get his breathing under control. "I..Mr. Kamiya saw Guilmon this morning!"

"What?"

Takato nodded, glancing to make sure that their teacher had not notice them talking, "Yeah, I..I've got to move him somewhere right after school."

"Why did you come to school, then?"

"They would have called my parents! They wouldn't know where I was, I could just imagine my mother."

Jeri smiled slightly. She looked up at the clock on the wall,"The bell's going to ring in a few minutes. You'll be able to hide Guillmon."

Takato nodded,"Yeah. I know. I, crud, Kamiya's turning back around." The two young teenagers spun back around seconds before Tai turned to face the class.

"Okay," Tai said,"That is the problem I want you to do for homework tonight." He waited until the class finished coping the problem before he continued. "Make sure that you finish reading the chapter in the text book also." He watched as the second hand on the clock moved over the correct time and the bell rang. "And we're out of here. I will see you all tomorrow. Mr. Matsuki, I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes."

Takato was already half-way to the door. "Damn," he swore to himself,"I almost made it."

"Tough break man," Kazu said,"It's never good when a teacher wants to talk to you."

"You have no idea," Takato muttered under his breath. He started to walk back to the front of the class room. Tai closed the door then walked back over to his desk.

"Have a seat."

Takato nodded and sat down. Tai did the same behind his desk. "So, you've shown a lot of improvement lately. I'm very impressed."

"T..thank you," Takato nodded, forming a puddle of sweat beneath him.

"How have you been lately?"

Takato screamed. "Alright! I can't take it anymore! Mr. Kamiya, please you can't tell anyone about Gullmon! He..he's my friend! Please, Mr. Kamiya. He's not evil, we protect this city! Please!..." He looked up and saw that Tai was staring at him.

"Can I speak?"

Takato nodded."Y..yeah. go..go ahead."

Tai smiled slightly as he looked towards the closet. "Alright guys, you can come out now."

Takato watched as the door open and two creatures walked into the room. His eyes opened wide as he grabbed his deck of cards. He quickly flipped through them until he found the ones he was looking for. "Agumon, and Gatomon? Two digimon!" He glanced at his teacher,"Y...y...you're the Master Digidestined, aren't you?"

Tai nodded. "That's right."

"""""""""""""""""

Yamaki glanced around the crime scene: a corner office with a smashed desk an chair inside. The shelf was slashed in half, and the books were scattered around the floor. In the center of the carpet was the familiar police outline. The deceased had been removed, but the evidence of its' remains were still there . "Another murder. What's going on here" He turned to face one of the Hypnos agents. "Who was it this time?"

The agent read from the file in his hands. "Satsuto, Megumi. She was an electrical engineer before being promoted to an executive position. She was not married, but was living with a group of friends at a nearby apartment."

The Hypnos executive nodded. "We'll have to inform one of them about what happened here. Any idea of the killer?"

The agent flipped to the back of the folder and pulled out a photograph. "This was captured over surveillance. I think it's the same one as before."

Yamaki looked at the picture and nodded. "It's the Skull Satanmon again. Cross reference the situation of this case with any other unexplained deaths." The agent nodded and walked away. Yamaki turned around and walked over to the large bay window. A group of his forensic officers were examining the panes of glass to check for signs of entry. They reported to Yamaki that they had not found any.

He lightly started to rub his chin. "If the murderer didn't get in through the window, and the building's security didn't detect him going through the front door or the roof. That can only mean...that can only mean that's he's still in the building!"

The other agents stopped their field work and stared at their commander. He split the assembled agents into two groups: one would stay in the office, while the others went with Yamaki. They began a systematic search of the building, but they were not able to find any trace of the assassin. The Hypnos leader was beginning to doubt his own judgment, but as they walked along the top floor, Yamaki thought he saw something out of the corner of his eyes, like someone quickly closed one of the doors.

He turned back around and walked back down the hall. There should not have been anyone in the building, it had been evacuated. He ordered his team to guard the two ends and he cautiously approached the door. He grabbed his Electromagnetic Pulse gun and held it up. He waited a few seconds, then kicked open the door. He pointed his gun inside. "Freeze! Government Agent!"

The door suddenly flung open the other way and slammed into Yamaki and he was thrown to the ground. A skeleton of a devil appeared over top of the Hypnos commander. "Ha!" he laughed,"So you're Yamaki, huh? Ha!" He pointed the orb end of his staff at Yamaki's head.

"Freeze!"

The devil skeleton looked to the left and right: the two groups of Hypnos agents were all standing their ground, their own EMP guns pointing at him. One of the agents who was wearing a red cap as opposed to the normal blue ones. "Freeze, Skull Satanmon! We have your surrounded."

He glanced around, then back at Yamaki. "Don't be foolish," Yamaki hissed under Skull Satanmon's weight,"These men are government agents, if you kill me, they will not have any problem with destroying you."

Skull Satanmon glanced around, then back at Yamaki. "All right, but before I go..." He raised his staff,"Here's something so you'll remember me!" He slammed down on the side of Yamaki's face, no doubt crushing at the least his cheek bone.

The agent with the red cap threw his arm down. "Fire!" The Hypnos army began firing their weapons, but Skull Satanmon shot through the ceiling.

The agent with the red cap charged over to the fallen commander. "Commander Yamaki! Commander!" He knelt down and gasped.All of his training, and it still took everything he had not to lose his lunch. He grabbed his communicator. "This is Agent in Charge, we need a medivac stat! Yamaki is down! I repeat, Yamaki is down!"

""""""""""""""""

Rika was in her usual mood as she walked home from school. She had her arm over her shoulder carrying her bag, her face had her usual puss on it as she was staring at the ground. People walked past her, but she ignored them. Up above, Renamon danced across the building roofs, watching over her human partner. These two were a perfect match, both desired to be the best, and they both shunned even the slightest bit of human interaction. They would become the best, and no one would stand in their way.

As Rika kept her gaze focused on the sidewalk in front of her, she suddenly became aware that the sidewalks were free of all people. It was not that she did not mind it, but the traffic and pedestrians did not just vanish in the middle of rush hour. "Where did everyone go?"

She suddenly felt Renamon appear behind her. "Careful Rika, something's not right."

The two girls looked around. "I don't see anything," Rika said.

Renamon turned around, then gasped. She pointed at a roof top behind them. "There!"

Rika spun around and gasped as well. Standing on top of the roof top where a group of dark figures were standing. They recognized each and every one of them. "Musyamon, Vilemon, Harpymon, Dark Lizardmon!" Rika gasped,"What are you all doing here together?"

Musyamon grinned as he grabbed his sword. "We are your executioners!"

""""""""""""""

Tai and Takato walked through the park with their digimon trailing behind. "So you were the Digidestined _leader_?" Takato gasped.

Tai nodded. "Yeah, it was some rough times but, I wouldn't have traded it for anything."

Takato nodded. "So, um, why did you guys break apart? I mean, why isn't there a Digiddestined team right now?"

Tai half smiled. "Well, after we fought our arch-enemy...it was about fifteen years ago, so probably around the time you were born. Anyway, we fought Malomyotismon and defeated him, but there wasn't that much more for us to do, so were decided it was time to get on with our lives. We all had things we wanted to be in the future. Our advisor, Gennai, appeared to us and told us that a new group of Digidestineds would be arriving, the Tamers. It was our duty to train them, so we had to prepare. However, there would be epicenters of Tamers appearing, so two Digidestineds was assigned to each city. Because I was the leader, I was allowed to remain here, where I grew up.

Takato raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Tai sighed. "Well, a few digimon were able to DNA digivolve, so Takeru Takashi and Cody Hida went together, they're in...um...Moscow, I think. Daisuke Motomiya and Ken Ichijoji were partners, they were in Mexico City last time I checked. Miyako Inoe and my sister..." he trailed off.

"What?" Takato asked again.

"Miyako Inoue, or Yolei, as we called her, is in Montreal."

"You have a sister?" the young Tamer asked, interestingly.

"Kari," Tai said.

"Wow, I never knew that!" Takato smiled, for the first time, it was like his teacher was a real person, not just someone that stood in front of the classroom and talked. "Is she a Digidestined like you, what city is she in?"

Tai was about to answer him, when they heard a loud crashing sound from behind them. The group spun around and saw a red headed girl in a school uniform riding atop a giant fox run past them. A samurai, a winged imp, a flame in the shape of a lizard, and a woman with wings for arms charged after her. The Master Digidestined, the Tamer, and the digimon looked at each other. "That was the Digimon Queen, wasn't it?" Agumon asked.

Takato nodded. "I think Rika's in trouble."

"Rika?" Tai gasped,"You know her?"

The Tamer shrugged. "Probably not as much as you."

Tai turned away from him. "_I_ didn't even know her name." He took a deep breath, then looked Takato straight in the eyes. "Okay, I know you want to help her, but stay here. I'll go after her."

Takato was shocked. "What! Are you serious?"

"Yes, I don't want you getting hurt. Stay here."

Takato crossed his arms. "Guillmon and I can take care of ourselves, and I'm going, whether you like it or not!"

Tai was about to protest, but when he looked at Takato, he caught a glimpse of himself. "Alright, let's go."

Takato smiled at Guillmon, and quickly followed after Tai, Agumon and Gatomon.

As the group ran after Rika, Tai glanced over at Takato. _"S'funny,"_ he thought,"_When I first heard the rumors of a 'goggle wearing Tamer,' I _knew _it was him. Deep down, subconsciously, I just knew it. That somehow that computer beam he was hit with on that field trip somehow made him a Tamer. Gave him a digimon, made him a hero. At least _he _thinks he's a hero. He has no idea how much it hurts to fight, to put yourself on the line. He's just an idealistic kid, but...he does have the skills and potential. What am I thinking! He can't be a fighter, whether he's a Tamer or not, whether or not there is a dark force descending on the city. He's just a kid, not a warrior!"_

The group ran after their prey, but the evil digimon were incredibly fast, much faster then two humans, two rookies and one small champion, and with the group of evil digimon behind her, Kyuubimon moved even faster. "We'll never catch up at this rate," Tai sighed. He grabbed the pink digivice that was around his waist, then grabbed a square device. "Gatomon!"

The white cat nodded, then jumped into the air. "Gatomon armor digivolve to Nefertimon! The Angel of Light!"

Takato and Guillmon gasped as a giant sphinx with wings appeared in front of them. Tai and Agumon jumped on. The Master Digidestined lifted Takato onto Nefertimon's back and Guillmon soon followed. "We're all on!" Tai shouted,"Hurry!"

"How fast are you?" Takato gulped.

"Just hang on," Nefertimon chuckled,"You haven't seen anything yet!" Takato and Guillmon grabbed onto her white fur, then the sphinx shot forward. The young Tamer and his digimon were almost thrown off as Nefertimon charged the evil digimon group that was chasing the Digimon Queen.

When they approached closer, they were slightly relived to see that Kyuubimon had a lead on her pursuers, not much, but enough to buy them some time. Nefertimon swung around to attack, only to hear Rika call out. Nefertimon's passengers looked over their shoulders and saw that Kyuubimon was lying on the ground. She had most likely lost her footing.

The sphinx spun back around to face the group of evil digimon. "Rosetta Stone!" A set of tablets flew from the gauntlets on her front legs and into the ground in front of the evil digimon. They were momentarily stunned.

Tai grabbed Takato and jumped off of Nefertimon. "Evolve your partner!" he shouted.

Takato gasped, then grabbed his D-Arc. "R..right."

"Guillmon digivolve to Growlmon!"

"Pyro Blaster!" He shouted, firing a ball of fire from his mouth. The team of evil digimon jumped apart, but the blast disintegrated Vilemon.

As Growlmon and Nefertimon faced the group of evil digimon, Tai grabbed Takato and brought him over to the fallen Rika and Kyuubimon, who had now changed back to Renamon. "Are you all right?" Tai asked.

"I'm fine!" the Digimon Queen snapped. Tai bent down and examined Rika's ankle.

"I think you may have twisted it."

Rika glared at him. "I told you, I'm fine!"

Tai ignored her and turned to Takato. "We'll have to hide somewhere until we can bring her to a hospital. Get the digimon." The Master Digidestined reached down and lifted Rika up in his arms.

"I don't recall asking for your help!" she snapped. She started squirming to break out of his grip.

"And I don't recall asking for your approval!" Tai shouted back, tightening his arms.

Rika glared at his face, then gasped. "Y..you're the Master Digidestined!"

"That's right."

Rika instantly stopped struggling. She not only remembered that technically he was her Master, but also the Mega digimon that was his to command. She went limp in his arms.

"That's better," Tai said. He glanced to Takato. "Tell the Digimon we're leaving, right now!"

Takato charged over to the digimon. "Growlmon! Nefertimon! We're leaving!"

Musyamon laughed. "You're not going anywhere!" He held his sword out in front. Growlmon fired his Pyro Blaster and Nefertimon attacked with her Rosetta Stones. The two attacks crashed into the sidewalk, tearing it apart in a blast of smoke and concrete. When it cleared, the Tamers and the Master Digidestined were gone.

"Damn it!" Musyamon growled,"Find them, now!"

""""""""""""""""

Jenrya was resting in his bed, his left hand on his chest and his right hand on top of his forehead. Terriermon was laughing as he played a computer game on the screen. "Ha! No one can beat Terriermon! I am the best!"

"Terriermon!" Jenrya shouted,"I'm trying to sleep here!"

"It's the middle of the afternoon! Why are you sleeping now?"

Jenrya was about to argue, when his cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Jenrya! It's Takato!"

Jenrya sat up in his bed,"Why do I have the feeling that this isn't a pleasure call."

"The Digimon Queen has been hurt! A group of powerful evil digimon are casing her. We're all waiting for the attack, we're gonna need your help."

Jenrya was confused. "Who's there with you?"

"The Master Digidestined."

"What!" Jenrya gasped,"We'll be right there!"

""""""""""""""""""

Dark Lizardmon slightly moved aside a branch that was on the ground. She examined the print that was in the mud. "Hmm, it's a sneaker print all right, but I don't know from whom. It could have been made by the Goggle Tamer since the Master Digidestined was carrying her, or this print could have been here for weeks."

Musyamon growled. "Keep searching. I will not be stripped of my revenge. The Digimon Queen will pay for the humiliation she has caused me!"

Harpymon hovered to the ground,"Sir!" she squaked,"I've found them."

Musyamon grinned wildly. "Excellent."

"""""""""""""

Terriermon placed his hand over his eyes and examined the forest. "Hmm, I don't see them anywhere."

Jenrya ran up the small hill, and dodged between trees and bushes. "Takato said they were in Guiilmon's hide out. We're almost there." They ran through the path until they reached a familiar hill. Jenrya peeked inside and breathed a sigh of relief. "Guys, it's me."

"Jenrya, thank goodness," Takato sighed as he ran over to open the metal gate. The black haired teenager walked in and gasped. The fearsome Digimon Queen was lying on the ground, her ankle wrapped in a red cloth. Even that was not enough to cause him to gasp out, it was the man who was standing over her. "T..the Master Digidestined, I presume?" he asked.

Tai nodded. "Yes, and you're the one that broke into Hypnos with me the other night."

Jenrya placed his hands together and bowed. "Y..Yes sir!"

Tai smiled slightly. Jenrya mentioned to Rika. "What happened to her?"

"Hey!" Rika snapped,"I'm right here!"

Tai crossed his arms. "I think she might have agitated her ankle."

Rika growled. "Hey! Don't talk like I'm not here!" She stared at Tai,"And I told you, my ankle is fine! And I am leaving!"

Tai glared at her. "Listen to me, you're staying here, understand!"

Rika flinched back, and was silent. Jenrya and Takato gasped. "What's gotten her so scared?" Tai whispered.

"Rumor is that the Digimon Queen was in battle with the Master Digidestined," Jenrya whispered back,"Would _you_ like to be on the receiving end of his power?"

Terriermon grinned. "Still, I never thought I'd see the Digimon Queen cowering like a little girl, ha!" Renamon suddenly appeared in front of him. He stopped laughing and stumbled back.

"Do not make fun of Rika," she said,"Or you will be sorry."

"Quiet!" Agumon shouted. Terriermon and Renamon flinched."They're going to hear us!"

Tai knelt down next to Rika. "Alright, your majesty, did you mind telling me why those digimon are after you?"

"What's there to tell?" Renamon asked,"They were weak, and now they want revenge for proving it to them."

Gatomon crossed her arms. "Knowing you two, you probably humiliated them as well."

Renamon glared at her. Gatomon shot her a glance. Renamon shot her head back to the ground.

Guillmon suddenly growled, his eyes dilating. Terriermon's ears stood straight up. "What's happening?" Tai asked.

"Digimon!" Terriermon said,"A large group of them."

"Wait," Gatomon said,"So you two can sense when digimon are approaching?"

The two nodded. Gatomon and Agumon stared at Tai. "It took us a while before we could do that."

"It doesn't mean anything!" Tai snapped,"Takato, Jenrya, I want you to take Rika somewhere to recover."

"What about you?" Takato asked.

"Agumon and Gatomon and coming with me. We'll stop Musyamon's gang."

"Hold it!" Takato said,"You're going to need help. Let Guillmon and I come!"

"No!" Tai snapped,"You're just kids! It's dangerous out there! Do you want to get killed? Huh! Take Rika back to her house, then I don't want to see any of you on the streets again! If I do, you'll be sorry! Let's go!"

He ran out of the door. Agumon and Gatomon turned to the others. They bowed. "Please forgive him," Agumon said.

"He's been..touchy lately," Gatomon smiled slightly.

Tai's voice shouted back,"NOW!" The two digimon flinched, then ran after Tai.

The Tamers just stared at the door. Takato stood up, "Well, _I'm_ not going to let him face them alone, whether he wants me to or not!" He turned to where the others were watching him. "What about you guys? Are you coming?"

Rika stared at him. "I'd love to, but seeing as how my _ankle is twisted!"_

Takato turned to Jenrya. "Well, why don't you do the honors?"

"Me?" He looked at Takato, then at Rika. "Oh, all right, just help her onto my back."

"Do you think I'm some sort of backpack?" she snapped.

"Do you want to go or not?" Terriermon asked, balancing on his ears.

Rika grumbled as Takato lifted her onto Jenrya's back. She wrapped her hands around the black haired boy's neck and he grabbed her bent knees. "I'm warning you right now," she said,"If your hands move any further up my legs, I'm sending you to the hospital, and if your hands move up underneath my uniform skirt, I'm killing you, understand?"

He blushed and smiled slightly. "Yeah, I get it."

She slapped the back of his head."Well, what are you waiting for?" she snapped, "Goggle head's getting too far ahead of us."

Jenrya ran out of Guillmon's hideout. "If you hit me like that again, I'm dropping you into the fountain, okay?"

She just growl,"Just keep going!"

"""""""""""""

Hakkado stared at the general as they stood in the dome shaped Hypnos control room. "Yamaki was injured..no, almost killed, by one of those Digimon freaks! This is a war, they started it, but we need to finish it!"

He held his hands up and twirled around the room, mentioning to the latest in computer technology, not even the military had access to such sophisticated equipment. "We have all this technology, and we still can't win this war! We have an ultimate weapon, let's us it!"

The general stared the newest member of the Hypnos Board of Directors straight in the eyes. "You'd better not be suggesting what I think you're suggesting..."

Hakkado slammed his fist into his open palm,"In order to avenge Yamaki, we need to show those Digimon what we're capable of. Unleash Juggernaut!"

The general eyed him hesitantly,"That has not been tested."

"We must!" Hakkado shouted,"Unleash Juggernaut on the city, show those...those infestations, what we humans are capable of! Look at what they did to Yamaki, they knew who he was, what he was in charge of. They're afraid of us, and look what happen! Activate Juggernaut, and we'll win!"

The general took a deep breath, then nodded. He looked up at the two technicians in their elevated chairs. "Commander Ootori!"

"Sir?"

"Activate Juggernaut."

""""""""""""""

Harpymon led the small group through the park, over the hills and through the path that Jenrya took only moments before. The flying bird was leading them straight towards Guillmon's hideout. They would be there in moments, and probably would have caught up the fleeing Tamers, if Tai and his two digimon did not appear before them.

Musyamon pointed his sword at them. "I do not know who you are stranger, or why you are here, but we are not interested in killing you, our prey is the Digimon Queen. You have two digimon with you." He smiled slightly," Either tell us where she is, or step aside."

Tai chuckled and grabbed the pink D3 that was on his belt. Musyamon grinned. "Ahh, you are a Digidestined, aren't you? I recognize that digivice, it belonged to the second generation of Digidestineds, do you mean to tell me that you are a second generation Digidestined?"

Tai shook his head,"No, I am the Master Digidestined of Tokyo."

Harpymon and Dark Lizardmon started to back up, but Musyamon held his ground. "You're not scaring me!"

Tai grinned and held the pink D3 in front of him. "I will."

"Gatomon digivolve to Angewomon!"

Musyamon chuckled. "A Fully Evolved angel? Wow, that's really a cause for alarm. Between Harpymon, Dark Lizardmon and myself, we should be able to take care of her."

"Oh yeah?" Angewomon snapped,"Let's see what you've got!"

Musyamon's group stepped forward, but the attack never came. Instead, all combatants shot their heads to the sky. The sky dramatically changed from an evening black to an apocalyptic red. "What's going on?" Dark Lizardmon asked.

Suddenly, the lizard, the harpy and the demon samurai were all thrown into the air. "Hey!" Angewomon shouted,"Where are you going?"

They screamed a response and they were catapulted through the air towards the city. The sky was suddenly full of other figures that were being pulled from the ground and propelled through the air, all heading towards the city.

"What is going on here?" Agumon asked.

"I don't know," Tai said,"Come on, we've got to see where they're being pulled to!" Angewomon swept down and lifted the human and the small dinosaur, then flew after the other digimon.

The Tamers had also become aware of the wailing digimon floating in the sky above them. They decided that since the Master Digidestined told them not to interfere with _his _fight, they should be able to examine the source of the vacuum without fear of punishment.

They followed the vacuum pull to a massive building in the center of the city, one with two large towers, and a glowing red disc over it. The group watched as digimon were shot towards the glowing disc, where they disappeared. "What's going on here?" Takato shouted.

"I..I recognize that building..." Jenrya gasped,"W..what's going on here?"

"It looks like a vacuum cleaner!" Terriermon gasped,"They're cleaning the city!"

"Terriermon!" Jenrya snapped.

Takato faced the others. "We've got to do something!"

"Like what?" Rika shouted, still on Jenrya's back.

"I don't know!" Takato shouted back,"We'll think of something, and..." Guillmon started sniffing the air, then his pupils dilated again.

"Takato!" he hissed,"Something's coming!"

"What? What's coming?"

"Something powerful!"

Inside the Hypnos control room, the moaning sound of the digimon were intensified in the done ceiling. Tally could not stand it any longer. She ripped the goggles off her head and placed her hands over her ears.

"Make it stop!" she shouted,"I can't take it any longer!"

"It's almost over," Riley said,"Just a few more minutes!" The dome shaped ceiling suddenly turned a bright red.

Down below, the general and Hakkado.shot their heads up at the ceiling. "What's going on?"

Riley started to type at her keyboard. "I...I don't believe it."

"Report!" Hakkado demanded.

"S..Somehow the polarity has been reversed!" she gasped,"Something's coming through!"

"""""""""""

Outside, the Tamers twisted their heads to the top of the building and watched as a fog of smoke flowed from the glowing circle and encompassed the entire building. "What's going on up there?" Takato asked.

As if to answer, a loud voice boomed from the top of the building. "Greetings, humans!" the voice crashed like thunder,"I am an emissary from the Sovereign. I have arrived here through the rip in reality that you caused. Ha, you humans have opened the gate for all of us! My request is a humble one, hand over the journal made by Rob McCoy. Hand over Dolphin's journal. If you do not, prepare yourselves for the destruction of your city!"

Angewomon held onto Tai and Agumon as they floated in the sky near the Hypnos building. "What is that?" Agumon asked.

"A digimon," Angewomon answered,"Very powerful."

""McCoy?" Tai gasped,"Like Alice McCoy? Was Ice Devimon after that journal? What is so important about it?"

"Tai," Agumon said,"Look, on the ground, its the Tamers!"

"What?" he shouted,"I told them to head home! What are they doing there?"

Angewomon squinted her eyes. "It looks like they're about to head into battle. Should we stop them?"

"No!" Tai snapped,"Bring us over to that building roof. We'll wait until they're on the brink of death, then jump in to save them. Then they'll understand."

Agumon stared at him. "Tai, are you sure?"

"What, are you doubting your own speed and strength, _Wargreymon_?"

Agumon just mumbled something as Angewomon landed on the roof across from the Hypnos building.

""""""""""""""

The Tamers kept their attention to the top of the Hypnos roof. "Should we try to fight what ever's up there?" Jenrya asked.

"Yes!" Rika shouted into the black haired boy's ear,"Renamon'll go first!"

The fox digimon nodded. "Yes, Rika." She started jumping on the fire escape of the adjacent building until she reached the roof of the Hypnos building.

Rika thought of something. "She'll probably need to digivolve." She reached into her skirt pocket to pull out her modify cards. She grabbed her D-Arc with the other. All the movement caused Jenrya to lean forward. Rika gave a small yelp and wrapped her arms back around his neck.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rika shouted,"I almost fell off!"

"You're the one that's moving!"

Rika just growled and leaned against Jenrya's back. She slashed her card through her D-Arc. "Digi-modify! Digivolution Activate!"

"Renamon digivolve to Kyuubimon!"

The others watched through Rika's D-Arc as Kyuubimon landed on the Hypnos roof. She turned from left to right, but could not find anything."Is there anyone up there?" Rika asked.

Something suddenly flashed across the screen. "There!" she shouted. Kyuubimon turned and the others were able to see their enemy: a massive tiger with two wings and shields on his front shoulders. "How come I'm not getting any data?" Rika gasped.

Up on the roof, Kyuubimon faced the tiger. "Have you come to hand over the journal?" he asked.

"I am here to defeat you and load your data," Kyuubimon replied. She charged at the massive tiger,"Dragon Wheel!"

The tiger dodged out of the way and charged at the fox. He passed her, the spun around before she could. He flicked his tail forward. "Samurai Tiger Tail!"

The Tamers watched as Kyuubimon was flung from the roof. "Kyuubimon!" Rika shouted.

"Terriermon!" Jenrya called, grabbing his D-Arc and modify cards. To do so, he had to release his grip on Rika's leg, which caused her bad ankle to hit the ground. The pain brought tears to her eyes, but she did not let the others see her.

"Digi-modify! Digivolution Activate!"

"Terriermon digivolve to Gargomon!"

The Champion ran over to the building and fired into the ground. He was propelled into the air, where he passed the falling Kyuubimon, who slammed into the ground.

"Kyuubimon!" Rika shouted. She let go of her grip around Jenrya's neck with one hand to punch him in the back. "What are you doing! Bring me over to her!"

Jenrya growled, but did as he was told. They found Renamon, badly bruised, lying in a smoking crater. "R..Renamon..?" Rika asked, her voice quivering,"A..are you..."

"So...strong..." the fox moaned,"U..Ultimate, p..possibly even Mega."

"Oh no," Rika gasped. There was suddenly a loud explosion from the roof. "What's happening up there?"

Up on the roof, Gargomon was in one corner, firing all of his bullets at the tiger, but to no avail. His projectiles bounced harmlessly to the ground. "Take this, kitty-kitty!" He soon ran out of bullets.

"Aw nuts," he panted, switching to another bullet chamber. He tried to fire, but still nothing. "Aw nuts."

He looked up just in time to watch as the tiger's tail slammed into his face. Down below, the Tamer's watched as, once again, one of their digimon was flung from the roof. As Jenrya called out his digimon's name, Takato turned to Guillmon. "It's our turn, ready?"

The dinosaur nodded. "You bet I am."

"Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"

"Guillmon digivolve to Growlmon!"

"Digi-modify! Hyper Wings Activate!"

A set of wings appeared on Growlmon's back, and he soared into the sky. He passed Terriermon on the way. Jenrya ran over to where his digimon was going to fall, and he let go of Rika's legs. Once again, her injured ankle hit the sidewalk. "That hurt!" she shouted.

"Why am I still carrying you?" Jenrya asked, "Hobble on one foot or something!"

Rika growled and let go of Jenrya's neck. She used her good foot and bounced over to where Renamon was lying and knelt down beside her. She watched as Terriermon landed in Jenrya's arms, then turned her attention back to the roof just in time as Growlmon landed.

Takato watched through his D-Arc screen as Growlmon launched himself at the tiger. The stripped attacker quickly dodge and jumped forward, missing Growlmon in mid-air. The large dinosaur caught this out of the corner or his eye. He spun around, producing a blade from his forearm. "Dragon Slash!" he shouted, slicing the blade across the tiger's stomach. The invader screamed in pain, then spun around, attack Growlmon with his tail. Both combatants fell to the roof.

"You're pretty powerful," the tiger panted,"But not enough to defeat me."

Growlmon took a big breath, then spit a blast of fire forward,"Pyro Blaster!" The tiger chuckled. He quickly moved his body so the fire attack hit his shield instead. He jumped forward and brought his tail around.

"Samurai Tiger Tail!"

Growlmon was hit in the face, and he stumbled onto his rear. The tiger launched forward and used his Samurai Tiger Tail again, hitting the side of Growlmon's face. He attacked again and again and again.

Down on the ground, Takato watched through his D-Arc. "No..Growlmon's losing! W..what happens if I lose him? I..I..."

The tiger invader did not waste any time, he jumped forward and bit his jaw on Growlmon's shoulder, digging his teeth deeply into the dragon's skin.

Down on the ground, Takato felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He cried out in pain, and dropped his D-Arc, an image of the tiger appeared on its screen, the word MIHIRAMON appeared below it. "Growlmon's in trouble," Takato said, still clutching his shoulder. He fell onto his knees, then slammed into the ground.

"Takato?" Jenrya asked.

"What's wrong with him?" Rika exclaimed.

Takato found himself floating inside of a massive darkness. "W..where am I?" he asked.

"Takato..."

He spun around and saw Growlmon hovering in front of him. "Takato, it's not over yet."

"Growlmon?" he asked,"W..where are we?"

"Inside of the connection we share with each other," he said,"We are connected, just like we've almost been. The fight isn't over yet, but I need your help."

"But...but what if Mr. Kamiya was right? I..I don't know how dangerous it is. I..I thought I lost you up there, I can't do this! I'm not worthy to be your partner!"

"Didn't Mr. Kamiya also tell you that there has to be something you would be willing to fight for? Aren't there people that you fight for?"

Takato gasped. Images came into his mind,"Mom...Dad...Jeri...You guys...I need to protect you!"

He faced his digimon partner again,"You're right Growlmon. I'm sorry, if you're still willing to give it another chance, I'm ready." He reached out to grab Growlmon's hand, but found that he had something small and furry instead. He shot his eyes open and saw that he was holding the hand of a small white creature. "C...Calumon?"

The small digimon smiled. His ears grew out of his head,"Did anyone ever tell you that you talk in your sleep?"

Jenrya ran over to him. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Rika hobbled over and grin. "What a wimp!" she laughed,"I can't believe you fainted!"

Takato got to his feet, then suddenly remembered something. "Growlmon!" he gasped,"He needs my help!"

"W..what are you going to do?" Jenrya asked.

Takato grabbed a card out of his modify deck."We have the power to make our digimon stronger, we just have to believe in ourselves, and the power that brought us all here to begin with!" The Tamers watched as the card he held up slowly changed to a blue one.

"It's the blue card!" Jenrya gasped.

"Alright," Rika nodded,"I'm with you."

Takato was slightly surprised that he was able to make a blue card appear, but he wanted to pretend that he knew what he was doing, especially in front of the Digimon Queen. He slashed the card through his D-Arc. "Digi-modify!"

On the ground, the small triangle in Calumon's head glowed a bright red._"Crystal Matrix Activate!"_

Up on the roof, Mihiramon watched with wide eyes as Growlmon's data was quickly pulled back into the dinosaur's body. A bolt of energy sent the tiger flying backwards as Growlmon's entire body began to glow. "W...what is happening?"

**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**

"Growlmon matrix digivolve to...Wargrowlmon!"

Mihiramon was in shock and awe. "No, how can this be? How were you able to digivolve?"

On the roof across from the battle, Tai and his two partners were wondering the same thing. "Growlmon digivolved!" Tai gasped,"B..but how did he do it without a crest or DNA digivoling?"

Agumon looked to the ground,"I think Takato used a blue card."

"A blue card?" Tai asked,"Hmm, there's more to these Tamers than I originally thought."

Mihiramon was impressed, but he was not going to let that scare him. He jumped forward, his tail in the air. "Armored Tiger Tail!" Growlmon reached up with one hand and caught it. "What? This can't be! No one beats Mihiramon!"

Wargrowlmon chuckled." Well, it looks like I'm the first! Atomic Blaster!" A red beam fired out of the two gun barrels on Wargrowlmon's chest plate. It slammed into Mihiramon, causing the tiger to cry out in extreme pain.

"I am defeated," he wailed,"But know this, I am only one of the fearsome Devas! The Sovereign wants that journal! Beware, ha!" Wargrowlmon's red beam tore through the Mihiramon, and his data exploded across the city.

"They did it!" Tai gasped,"He beat him! These..these Tamers are more powerful than I thought." He looked to the sidewalk where the three of them were standing. "And Takato...he was willing to risk it all to defeat him." He smiled slightly,"Just like I once was."

He turned to Angewomon,"Take us down there."

Takato was cheering as Wargrowlmon descended to the sidewalk. "You did it!" Takato shouted,"You defeated him!"

Wargrowlmon smiled and he regressed back to Guillmon. "No, you did it. Thank you for believing in me and fighting by my side."

"Yes, I'm impressed as well."

The group spun around and saw Angewomon descend to the ground with Tai and Agumon. The Master Digidestined approached them. "I was watching your battle."

Takato growled and showed Mr. Kamiya his fist. "Listen, don't try to talk us out of not fighting anymore, got it? We have the power to protect this city, and we're gonna do it. You're the one that told us we have to believe in something that we're willing to fight for, remember?"

Tai grinned,"Yes, I do now. You made me remember why we were chosen to have digimon partners. I had forgotten what it truly meant to fight for something you believe in." His smile faded,"Tamers, I, the Master Digidestined of Tokyo, must now ask you this, Are you willing to go all the way? Are you willing to fight to your fullest to protect this city, and this world?"

Takato stepped forward. "I think I speak for all of us when I say, yes."

Tai nodded. "Good, training starts tomorrow!"

NEXT: Quest!


	7. Quest: Chapter 1

_Takato watched as the door open and two creatures walked into the room. His eyes opened wide as he grabbed his deck of cards. He quickly flipped through them until he found the ones he was looking for. "Agumon, and Gatomon? Two digimon!" He glanced at his teacher,"Y...y...you're the Master Digidestined, aren't you?"_

_Tai nodded. "That's right."_

_Yamaki glanced around the crime scene: a corner office with a smashed desk an chair inside. The shelf was slashed in half, and the books were scattered around the floor. In the center of the carpet was the familiar police outline. The deceased had been removed, but the evidence of its' remains were still there . "Another murder. What's going on here" He turned to face one of the Hypnos agents. "Who was it this time?"_

_The agent read from the file in his hands. "Satsuto, Megumi. She was an electrical engineer before being promoted to an executive position. _

_Skull Satanmon glanced around, then back at Yamaki. "All right, but before I go..." He raised his staff,"Here's something so you'll remember me!" He slammed down on the side of Yamaki's face, no doubt crushing at the least his cheek bone. _

_The agent with the red cap threw his arm down. "Fire!" The Hypnos army began firing their weapons, but Skull Satanmon shot through the ceiling. _

_The agent with the red cap charged over to the fallen commander. "Commander Yamaki! Commander!" He knelt down and gasped.All of his training, and it still took everything he had not to lose his lunch. He grabbed his communicator. "This is Agent in Charge Adams, we need a medivac stat! Yamaki is down! I repeat, Yamaki is down!"_

_As Growlmon and Nefertimon faced the group of evil digimon, Tai grabbed Takato and brought him over to the fallen Rika and Kyuubimon, who had now changed back to Renamon. "Are you all right?" Tai asked._

_"I'm fine!" the Digimon Queen snapped. Tai bent down and examined Rika's ankle. _

_"I think you may have twisted it."_

_Rika glared at him. "I told you, I'm fine!"_

_Tai ignored her and turned to Takato. "We'll have to hide somewhere until we can bring her to a hospital. Get the digimon." The Master Digidestined reached down and lifted Rika up in his arms._

_"I don't recall asking for your help!" she snapped. She started squirming to break out of his grip._

_"And I don't recall asking for your approval!" Tai shouted back, tightening his arms._

_Rika glared at his face, then gasped. "Y..you're the Master Digidestined!"_

_"That's right."_

_Rika instantly stopped struggling. She not only remembered that technically he was her Master, but also the Mega digimon that was his to command. She went limp in his arms._

_"Jenrya, thank goodness," Takato sighed as he ran over to open the metal gate. The black haired teenager walked in and gasped. The fearsome Digimon Queen was lying on the ground, her ankle wrapped in a red cloth. Even that was not enough to cause him to gasp out, it was the man who was standing over her. "T..the Master Digidestined, I presume?" he asked._

_Tai nodded. "Yes, and you're the one that broke into Hypnos with me the other night."_

_Jenrya placed his hands together and bowed. "Y..Yes sir!"_

_"We must!" Hakkado shouted,"Unleash Juggernaut on the city, show those...those infestations, what we humans are capable of! Look at what they did to Yamaki, they knew who he was, what he was in charge of. They're afraid of us, and look what happen! Activate Juggernaut, and we'll win!"_

_The general took a deep breath, then nodded. He looked up at the two technicians in their elevated chairs. "Commander Ootori!"_

_"Sir?"_

_"Activate Juggernaut."_

_Takato grabbed a card out of his modify deck."We have the power to make our digimon stronger, we just have to believe in ourselves, and the power that brought us all here to begin with!" The Tamers watched as the card he held up slowly changed to a blue one._

_"It's the blue card!" Jenrya gasped._

_"Alright," Rika nodded,"I'm with you."_

_Takato was slightly surprised that he was able to make a blue card appear, but he wanted to pretend that he knew what he was doing, especially in front of the Digimon Queen. He slashed the card through his D-Arc. "Digi-modify!"_

_On the ground, the small triangle in Calumon's head glowed a bright red."Crystal Matrix Activate!"_

_Up on the roof, Mihiramon watched with wide eyes as Growlmon's data was quickly pulled back into the dinosaur's body. A bolt of energy sent the tiger flying backwards as Growlmon's entire body began to glow. "W...what is happening?"_

_**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**_

_"Growlmon matrix digivolve to...Wargrowlmon!"_

_Mihiramon was impressed, but he was not going to let that scare him. He jumped forward, his tail in the air. "Armored Tiger Tail!" Growlmon reached up with one hand and caught it. "What? This can't be! No one beats Mihiramon!"_

_Wargrowlmon chuckled." Well, it looks like I'm the first! Atomic Blaster!" A red beam fired out of the two gun barrels on Wargrowlmon's chest plate. It slammed into Mihiramon, causing the tiger to cry out in extreme pain._

_"I am defeated," he wailed,"But know this, I am only one of the fearsome Devas! The Sovereign wants that journal! Beware, ha!" Wargrowlmon's red beam tore through the Mihiramon, and his data exploded across the city._

_Takato growled and showed Mr. Kamiya his fist. "Listen, don't try to talk us out of not fighting anymore, got it? We have the power to protect this city, and we're gonna do it. You're the one that told us we have to believe in something that we're willing to fight for, remember?"_

_Tai grinned,"Yes, I do now. You made me remember why we were chosen to have digimon partners. I had forgotten what it truly meant to fight for something you believe in." His smile faded,"Tamers, I, the Master Digidestined of Tokyo, must now ask you this, Are you willing to go all the way? Are you willing to fight to your fullest to protect this city, and this world?"_

_Takato stepped forward. "I think I speak for all of us when I say, yes."_

_Tai nodded. "Good, training starts tomorrow!"_

**December 12, 2015**

Quest: Chapter 1

Takato was so excited he was not able to fall asleep until well after midnight. As such, he missed his alarm, had to skip breakfast and was now completing the hundred meter dash to school. He was pleasantly surprised when he darted into the classroom seconds before the bell rang, but his smile faded when he saw that there was an unfamiliar man standing in the front of the room. He slowly sat in his desk, staring at the front of the classroom. Kazu and Kenta soon took their seats next to him. "Hey Chumly!" Kazu cheered,"We've got a substitute, isn't that great?"

Takato's face frowned. "Y..yeah, I guess."

"What's with you, man?" Kazu asked,"I thought you'd love to have a sub!"

"I..ah...I..."

"Don't tell me you miss Mr. Kamiya!" Kazu laughed,"I mean, he is a pretty cool teacher, but, I'm not losing any sleep over it."

"That's not what I'm talking about," Takato said,"Mr. Kamiya is the...ah..."

"He's what?" Kenta asked.

Takato hesitated. "Oh, ah, nothing."

"What?" Kazu asked, smiling,"Is there something going on between you two?"

"No!" Takato hissed,"I'm a Tamer, and Mr. Kamiya is the Master Digidestined! He's supposed to start training us later tonight."

Kenta and Kazu looked at each other, then they started laughing. Takato sighed, and lightly rubbed the top of his head. "Yeah, I really didn't think you'd believe me."

Kazu chuckled. "Listen, Chumly, if Mr. Kamiya and you are supposed to be.heh, 'training,' maybe he left you an e-mail or something."

Takato's frown turned into a hopeful grin. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

Kenta and Kazu looked at each other, then started laughing again. Takato gave an annoyed frown. He turned away from his friends and caught Jeri looking at him, a sympathetic smile on her face. Takato returned the smile, then noticed that Kazu and Kenta were staring at him. He turned beat red, then spun back around to the face the front of the classroom. He knew that they were snickering behind his back, but Kazu's idea of checking his e-mail was a good plan, so when his computer period arrived, he quickly check his e-mail before the teacher started the lesson. He smiled when he saw that one was from Mr. Kamiya.

_"Takato, Rika, Jenrya, I have to pick up my daughter from the airport this morning. I should be back in time to start your training later. Meet at the abandoned construction site on the intersection of 23th and 5th in Shinjuku at 5:00. If I'm not there by six, we'll start tomorrow. "_

"Daughter?" Takato gasped,"Mr. Kamiya's has a daughter?"

Jeri sat down at the computer next to him. "Hey, where's Miki?" he asked.

"Her father's in the hospital," she shrugged.

Takato just nodded. "Takato, listen, it doesn't matter what Kazu and Kenta think. I know that you're telling the truth." She smiled,"And I also know that you're out there risking your life to save us. You're one of the coolest people I've ever known."

Takato blushed as he slid down into his seat.

""""""""""""""""""

Tai and Nami Isage stood firmly in the airport terminal, watching as the passengers filed out from the airplane. The two watched as married couples were reunited, as well as grandparents with grandchildren. Families were becoming complete in front of their eyes. Tai was doing his best to hide his excitement at seeing his daughter again. His companion noticed this.

"Why are you smiling so much?" Nami asked.

Tai tried to force the smile down, but it kept returning. "I'm not smiling."

Nami grinned. "It's okay to be happy to see your daughter again."

Tai shrugged. "Yeah, I'm happy, but I don't think I'm 'jumping-out-of-my-skin' happy..."

Nami turned to face him."You're lying."

Tai sighed. "Yeah, I am." He looked up at the people exciting the plane,"Where is she? She should have been here by now."

Nami place her hand on his shoulder. "Could it be that girl over there jumping in the air and yelling "Daddy?"

Tai quickly looked to where she was pointing. There was a sixteen-year-old girl with long blackish brown hair, wearing a red jacket, a wool skirt, and a red hat jumping up and down and waving her arms. "Daddy! Daddy!"

Tai grinned and charged through the crowd. He nearly tackled the girl to the ground. He hugged her tightly. "Kasumi!" he almost shouted,"You finally made it."

"Yeah," she grinned,"The plane was detained in Hawaii or New Zealand or something. I wasn't really paying attention, but we're finally here!"

"We?" Tai asked.

She mentioned to the large duffel bag on the ground. "Snow Agumon is in here," she whispered,"She's asleep."

Tai just nodded. He suddenly remembered Nami. He turned around and saw that she was right behind him. "Kasumi," he said,"This is Nami Isage."

Kasumi grinned and was going to shake the older woman's hand, when she remembered where she was. She quickly withdrew her hand and bowed. "It's, ah, very nice to meet you." She stood back up and smiled when she saw Nami smiling at her.

"It is nice to meet you as well."

Tai placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Well, let's get you home."

"""""""""""""""""""""""""

Rika sighed as she lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling of her room. She glanced at her bandaged ankle. After Takato brought her to the hospital, Tai called Rika's mother. She flipped out, as usual. Why did that stupid super model have to act that way? Why couldn't she just let Rika be who she wanted to be? She closed her eyes and she could hear her now.

_"Rika! What were you doing that caused you to twist your ankle?"_

_"Rika! You shouldn't run around and play like that, you're a girl!_

_"RIka! You've got to act more ladylike!"_

_"RIka! Rika! Rika!"_

She opened her eyes when she realized that someone else's voice was calling her. "Rika? Can I come in?"

Rika struggled and sat up in her bed. "Yeah, Grandma."

The doors to her room slid open and an elderly woman poked her head in. "Someone's here to see you."

Rika was confused. "Who?"

"The same boy that brought you to the hospital last night."

"Goggle-head?"

The elderly woman frowned. "Rika! That's not nice."

Rika muttered an apology, and her grandmother helped her into the wheelchair outside her room. She pushed her along the floor and into the hallway outside the room. Takato was standing there, leaning against the wall. He nodded. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Didn't you get that e-mail from Mr. Kamiya?"

Rika glanced at her watch. "It's only four thirty?"

Takato shrugged. "Yeah, well, I figure that's it's going to take a little longer since I've got to push you."

"What are you talking about?" Rika gasped,"I don't need your help!"

Her grandmother placed her hand on Rika's shoulder. "I don't know where you two are going, but this young man wants to help you. Why don't you let him?"

Rika frowned and placed her hands in her lap. "All right."

Takato bowed and grabbed the handles behind Rika's chair. He said goodbye to Rika's grandmother, then pushed Rika out the door.

Rika's face was beet red. She hated showing any kind of weakness, and being pushed down the street in a wheelchair by Goggle-head of all people was more then she could bear. The doctor said her ankle should heal in a few days, but she would make sure that Jenrya was pushing her from now on.

"By the way," Takato asked,"Where's Renamon?"

Rika grinned and pointed up. Takato turned to the building tops and watched as the fox danced across the rooftops. "Where's your partner, Goggle-head?"

"He's at the meeting place already."

"Oh," Rika said,"Hey, listen, just because you're helping me, and we're having this small talk, that doesn't mean we're 'together' and it certainly doesn't mean that I've forgotten what you did to me! Once I get strong enough, I will defeat you."

Takato felt his "Whatever."

"""""""""""""""""""

Yamaki lifted up his left arm and bent it. He knew it was moving, but he did not feel the same feeling that a normal person would. It was more like a set of numbers were flashing across his brain, sending him the knowledge that his arm was bent, but not the normal sensation of feeling. He sighed as he leaned back against his hospital pillow and stared at the ceiling.

The door opened a second later, "Dad?"

He turned and saw a blue haired teenage girl, wearing a blue jumper standing in the doorway. "Miki?" he gasped. The girl ran into the room, and was soon followed by a red headed woman and the doctor.

"Riley?" he asked, as he was hugged by his daughter.

The red headed woman smiled, uncomfortably. "I thought I should call her."

Yamaki nodded."Thank you."

"Daddy," Miki said, hugging him,"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I was attacked by that digimon, Skull Satanmon."

"Oh jeeze! Are you okay?"

"Actually," the doctor said, stepping forward,"There was extensive damage to your legs, right arm, and the left side of your face. We used the latest in cybernetic technology and research. In addition to still being able to walk, you should now have impressive strength, far above that of Artemis, or even Orion. As an added bonus, you should be able to fly."

He nodded. "Yes, I..I understand, thank you."

"Wow, Dad!" Miki grinned,"You're a cyborg too! That's so cool!" He grinned and lightly rubbed the top of her head. He turned to Riley.

"What happened while I was out?"

"""""""""""""

Kazu slapped his card down on the pile. "...and I win again! Ha!"

The color from Kenta's face drained,"W..w..what? B..but how? I..Ahh! Kazu, why do you always beat me?"

"Simple," he grinned,"I'm just better then you, that's all."

Kenta sighed as he gathered up his cards. "You're leaving?" Kazu gasped.

"Yeah," he pouted,"I'm gonna lose all my cards at this rate."

"Kenta, wait, come back!" he called, but it was too late, his friend had left. Kazu laid back on the gassy feild,"Now what?"

"Kazu, is that you?"

He sat back up and glanced around the playground of the park. He smiled when a familiar brown haired girl wearing a green jumper walked towards him. "Oh, what's up, Jeri?"

"Oh, nothing," she giggled as she sat down next to him,"I was just looking for Takato. You haven't seen him, have you?"

Kazu shook his head. "I didn't know he was even in the park. Hey, do you want to play Digimon?"

"What?" she gasped,"I..I don't know anything about Digimon! Takato doesn't either!"

Kazu looked at her oddly. "Takato doesn't know how to play Digimon cards?"

"Oh, the cards!" she breathed out quickly,"Yeah, Takato knows about the cards!"

"What about you? Do you want to play?"

"O..oh," she figited,"I..I only have a few cards..."

Kazu grinned, "Great! Let's see them."

Jeri reached into her pocket and pulled out a large stack of cards. Kazu's smile dropped. "What?" the girl asked,"Don't I have enough?"

"I...I," he looked down at the pile in his hands. His dreams of a quick win were fading fast.

"Are those all the cards you have?" she asked curiously.

"No!" he lied,"I..ah..just left the rest at home."

"Well, are we going to play, or what?"

Kazu took a deep breath, and was about to start. Suddenly, they heard a loud rumbling in the bushes around them. "What was that?"

"I don't know."

The two children stared at the moving bushes. A creature unlike anything they had ever seen leapt out at them.

""""""""""""""""

Jenrya glanced up when he heard the door of the warehouse open. He was ready to grab the digimon and run, but he sighed with relief when he saw Takato walk inside, pushing Rika's wheelchair. Guillmon ran away from playing with Terriermon and almost knocked Jenrya over. "Takato-mon!"

"Stay back!" Takato shouted.

Jenrya smiled. "Takato, you look like you're about to jump out of your skin? Why are you smiling so much?"

Rika looked over her shoulder and saw the grin on the boy's face. "Oh great, I've been pushed around by some grinning idiot."

Jenrya sighed as he looked at the injured red-headed girl. "Rika, at least you're feeling better, huh?"

"Watch it," she growled.

Renamon appeared behind her. "Rika, remember, we are here to learn."

She sighed. "Did Mr. Kamiya get here yet?"

Jenrya moved aside so the group could see deeper into the warehouse. Seated on a rotted armchair was the Master Digidestined Tai nodded slightly at them. "Now we can begin."

He rose to his feet and walked over to them; Agumon and Gatomon were following him, and a teenage girl and a white covered Agumon. "I'm glad that you're here, but, first things first." He mentioned to the girl,"This is my daughter, Kasumi, and her digimon partner, Snow Agumon."

The teenager bowed slightly, "Hi, it's ah, very nice to meet you."

Snow Agumon bowed as well,"I am pleased to be here."

"Okay," Tai said,"This isn't going to be a walk in the park, you digimon will reach your highest potential, and you may even reach the mega level."

Renamon's eyes opened. "A mega?" she asked, amazed.

"You're going to work like you've never work before," Tai said,"You will become stronger than you ever thought you could."

Takato's eyes opened wide. He whispered to Kasumi. "Is he serious?"

"I don't know," she whispered back,"When I told him that I got a digimon, he wasn't too happy, now he's ready to train me with the rest of you. What did you guys do to him?"

"I didn't do anything..." he protested.

"Mr. Matsuki!" Tai shouted,"Is there a problem?"

Takato quickly straightened. "No sir! I'll get back to work sir!" He looked down, then realized something. "Oh, I'm not in school."

He saw the look the others were giving him. "He's my teacher too."

"Okay," Tai said,"The first thing that we have to do is gauge your strength, your, for lack of a better term, 'power level." He lifted up his digivice. "Takato, you're first."

"Oh, okay. What should I do?"

"You and Guillmon stand right here..good. Now, Guillmon, Agumon is going to bring his strength up to a point where he would be able to evolve to the next level. I want you to try and match it."

Guillmon nodded. "O..Okay, I understand."

Agumon walked over to face Guillmon."Ready Agumon...go!"

Guillmon watched as Agumon's strength suddenly double in power. "Try to match it!" Tai shouted. The red dinosaur nodded, then tried to bring himself to the same way he felt when he digivolved to Growlmon for the first time.

Gatomon jumped onto Tai's shoulder so she could see the readout on his digivice. "Wow," she said,"That's pretty good."

"Okay, that's enough."

Guillmon started panting as Takato patted his head. "Good job, boy."

Tai nodded at Agumon. "Renamon, you're next."

Rika wheeled herself over and she and her partner stood in front of Agumon. Tai pressed a button on the device,"Okay, go!"

Agumon raised his strength again, and Renamon attempted to match it, bringing herself to the energy she felt when she evolved to Kyuubimon. Gatomon gasped as she watched Tai's digivice. "Wow, " the cat said,"She's strong too."

Rika smirked at Takato, who just crossed his arms and gave the Digimon Queen a sour look.

Tai was about to call Jenrya over, when there was a loud explosion from outside. "What was that?" he shouted.

The group charged outside and saw what appeared to be a giant rooster hovering over the city. It pointed one of his wings at an office building. The Master Digidestined and the Tamers watched in horror as all of the lights in the building went out and a stream of yellow light shot into the rooster. The monster bird grew even bigger!

"What's going on here?" Jenrya shouted.

"Guys!" Terriermon shouted, holding up a small radio,"Listen to this!"

"..._only this morning, when all media stations received a strange warning from a being calling himself Chatsuramon of the Devas. He demanded the location of an Alice McCoy, and promised retaliation if we did not hand her over. It appears that he is now attacking the city, as he promised. A giant rooster is floating above our heads, draining the city's power, a snake is terrorizing the subways and a rat is reeking horror through the parks. Who is this Alice McCoy, and what do these creatures want with..kzzthc...zzzzzzzzzzzz..."_ Terriermon started smacking the radio, but it was not use, the signal was lost.

"We're under attack!" Takato shouted.

"Okay guys," Tai said,"Takato and Kasumi go to the park, Rika and Jenrya head to the subway, Gatomon, Agumon and I will take care of the rooster."

"Are you sure?" Jenrya asked,"That tiger was pretty strong..."

"Of course he can do it!" Rika shouted,"He's the Master Digidestined, he's stronger than all of us put together!"

"I don't know about that," Tai said,"But go, quickly, before they destroy anything else. Good luck."

""""""""""""""""

Yamaki ran into the Hypnos control room, followed closely by his daughter, Miki. Riley was already climbing into her elevated chair, and Tally was lowering hers. "Welcome back, sir."

Yamaki nodded."Glad to be back. How have things been without me?"

"Hakkado activated Juggernaunt," Tally said.

"I heard,"Yamaki growled,"And I also understand that the first of these...Devas arrived _through_ the Juggernaunt core?"

"So we believe, sir," Tally said.

"He opened the way for all of them," Riley sighed.

"He's after your job," Tally warned,"The General is still on your side, but Shiru is planning on playing Hakkado into Hypnos Commander."

"As long as I'm still alive, that witch and her pawn aren't going to win this power struggle." He mentioned to the red alert on the dome shaped monitor ceiling. "What's going on?"

Riley started typing on her keyboard. "We have digital signals from the sewers, the park, and there's a signal growing at an incredible rate above us. I think that it is, incredible as it sounds, absorbing electrical energy from the city."

Yamaki sighed. "We'll send Orion and Artemis out, but we won't be able to fight one of the Devas."

"Not to worry sir," Tally said,"We're registering a very powerful signal rushing to engage the flying Deva, I've only seen this signal a few times before. I think it's the Master Digidestined."

Yamaki nodded. "Okay, Orion will go to the sewers, and Artemis to the park. This city is ours, and we won't let them take it!"

""""""""""""""""""""

Calumon hopped down the stairs, humming to himself. He was skipping along the sidewalk when he spotted a staircase leading under the ground. It was a cold winter's day, and, even though he was covered in white fur, he was freezing. He felt heat coming up the tunnel, so he traveled down into a white room with lots of people. He quickly darted under one of the benches and watched as the people walked around. Suddenly, Calumon heard a woman scream, and more people started screaming and running even faster. "What's going on?" he asked. He hovered into the air. "Why are you all running?" he shouted.

"Calumon?"

The small digimon turned around and smiled. "Renamon!" he grinned,"And Terriermon!"

Calumon looked past the two digimon and saw Jenrya carrying Rika down the stairs, with a pair of crutches in his hands. "Stop struggling!" Jenrya shouted,"You're going to fall off!"

Rika grumbled as she hoped onto her good foot and leaned against her crutches. "Okay, I don't see the snake anywhere."

Calumon hovered over. "Hi, Rika-Rika!"

"Calumon!" she gasped,"W..what are you doing here?"

"Having fun," he grinned,"Are you here to have fun too?"

There was a loud grumble from deep in the subway tunnel, and it was growing louder. "I think he's coming," Jenrya said.

Rika grinned. "Bring it on." The two Tamers and the digimon watched as a massive serpent suddenly appeared out of the tunnel. Rika and Jenrya nodded at each other. "Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"

**DIGIVOLUTION**

"Renamon digivolve to Kyuubimon!"

"Terriermon digivolve to Gargomon!"

""""""""""""""""""""

As Rika and Jenrya prepared to battle their opponents, Takato, Kasumi and their digimon were racing towards the park to combat the mouse invader. The Kamiya daughter had always been shy, and she was afraid that it would be a few days before she gathered up enough courage to talk to them. However, she was surprised that she was not engaged in a conversation with Takato, but that she had actually started it.

"...but when he heard that I had received a digimon partner, he was less then thrilled," she sighed,"I'm really surprised that he's actually training me! What happened to him here?"

Takato shrugged. "I didn't know he was so against training us."

Kasumi gasped. "Oh, you mean, you don't know?"

"Know what?"

Kasumi sighed. "I wasn't even born yet, and my mother and step-father never talk about it, but my aunt, my father's younger sister, was killed in the line of duty."

"What?" he gasped.

She nodded. "I guess it was fifteen years ago, which means she was...she was probably as old as we are now. My mother said Dad changed after that, I guess its never an easy thing to get over. Dad swore he wouldn't have any more dead kids. That's why I'm so surprised, he's actually going to let us fight!"

"Wow," Takato said, amazed,"I had no idea."

"Yeah, you know Gatomon?" Takato nodded. "Well, she was Aunt Kari's digimon partner."

"Oh, jeeze," he said, a sick feeling appearing in his stomach,"I..I really had no idea. Wow."

The group suddenly became aware that there was loud screams coming from the park's playground. A second later, a pair of familiar teenagers ran towards them. Takato recognized them instantly,"Kazu? Jeri?"

"Takato?" Kazu gasped, stopping in front of him,"W..what are you doing here?"

"Takato!" Jeri screeched, jumping behind him,"Save me! Save me from that thing! Guillmon, right? Get him, digivolve and get him! What are you waiting for!"

"Guillmon?" Kazu asked. He suddenly noticed the large red dinosaur and the small white dinosaur in front of him. "T..two digimon? I...I think I'm gonna faint."

The goggle wearing Tamer spun around. "Jeri, what are you talking about?"

She gave another scream and pointed forward. "There!"

Kasumi gasped,"Takato, I think you should see this."

Takato turned back around and he saw what looked like a rat made out of Tinker Toys. This mouse grinned when he saw the two Tamers. "Ahh, you must know where Alice McCoy is."

Takato turned to Kasumi. "Don't look at me," the girl said,"I just got here, remember?"

Takato cleared his throat, then addressed the rat. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Wait," the creature replied,"Goggles, red dinosaur, you're the one that defeated Mihiramon!"

"That tiger?" Guillmon asked,"Yeah, so?"

The mouse grinned. "Well, you won't find Khumbiramon so easy to defeat!" He charged forward.

Takato and Kasumi both grabbed cards from their decks. "Digi-modify! Digivolution Activate!"

**DIGIVOLUTION**

"Guillmon digivolve to Growlmon!"

"Snow Agumon digivolve to Veedramon!"

Kazu stumbled backwards, "I...I don't believe it! They're...real..."

Growlmon and Veedramon jumped forward, but Khumbiramon leapt to the side, causing the two digimon to smash into the sidewalk. The rat twirled around and allowed gravity to pull him towards the ground, both of his metal arms slammed into the backs of the two digimon. They quickly spun and charged forward, but Khumbiramon leapt over their heads. Veedramon quickly spun around and slashed her tail at the rat. It was a success, Khumbiramon was now on his back.

"Way to go!" Kasumi cheered, jumping into the air.

Her digimon lifted the rat over her head and turned to Growlmon. "Do you want a turn?" she asked.

Growlmon held up his arms and two blades folded out of his forearms. "Pitch 'um over!" Veedramon tossed the rat towards her partner. The dinosaur slashed his blades down, but Khumbiramon split into two identical rats!

"What's going on now?" Takato asked.

"Ha!" both Khumbiramons laughed,"Take this! Deva Clone!"

Each of the rats changed into two more, then those four duplicated into eight. The eight, Ultimate level Devas surrounded the two digimon and the four children. Kasumi took a deep breath and turned to Takato. "Any ideas?"

Takato turned to Jeri and Kazu. "Quick, do either of you have a blue card in your decks?"

The two teenagers glanced at each other, then shook their heads."What's a blue card?" Jeri asked.

Takato turned to Kasumi. "Now we're in trouble."

"Ha!" all eight Khubiramons laughed,"You'll never defeate me now! I will avenge Mihiramon, and I will bring Alice McCoy to the Sovereign! Prepare to meet your maker!"

"Halt! I cannot allow an evil creature such as you to have his way with a group of defenders of the good! You will not harm them!"

The Khumbiramons looked around."Who said that?"

A figure suddenly descended into the ring of rat Devas. It appeared to be a large brown colored robot with a submarine hatch on its stomach. It spoke in a male voice, and without any other male or female characteristics, the group assumed its gender to be male. "Who are you?" the Khumbiramons demanded.

"You may call me Guardromon!" it answered,"And I have traveled to this planet to seek my Tamer. However, I will not allow you to hurt these children!"

Kazu watched the mechanical construction with awe and wonder. "Wow," he said to himself,"He would make a pretty cool partner."

The Khumbiramons laughed. "Very well, three or three hundred, you've still got to destroy all of my clones, or I'll keep returning!"

"He's right," Takato said,"Growlmon, Veedramon, Guardromon, you've got to attack all of them, don't give him a chance to re-clone himself."

"You've got it, Takato-mon!" Growlmon said,"Come on, let's go!"

The rats leapt forward and back to attack with such ferocity, that the group was sure they were going to lose. Veedramon grabbed one Khumbiramon by his claw arms and flung him into another one. When both of them hit the ground, Growlmon fired his Pyro Blaster and destroyed them. Another two leapt in to take their place, but Guardromon held up his arms."Guardian Barrage!" A streame of rockets flew from his forearms and down the Khumbiramon's throat. He exploded from the inside.

"That's three down," Growlmon said,"Five to go."

Guardromon fired another missile attack at another clone, shattering him apart. "Make that four to go."

"But I only see three," Veedramon said.

Kazu was watching the battle intensely from behind the digimon. As such, he had a better advantage of sight, and quickly saw the missing Khumbiramon heading towards Guardromon's back.

"Guardromon!" he shouted,"Look out behind you!"

The robot quickly spun around, but it was too late. The Khumbiramon smashed his metal face with its claw. "Guardromon, no!" Kazu shouted. Growlmon and Veedramon started to run over to help him, but the Khumbiramon was much faster, and was all ready in the air, intending to bring his claw in the small break in Guardromon's armor.

Kazu shouted again. "Guardromon!" Suddenly, a bright glowing ball appeared in front of him. He watched as it landed in his arms and changed into a peculiar shaped device. "Hey, this is..this is a digivice." He quickly looked back up and saw the Deva heading closer to Guardromon's helmet. "And I know how to use it!"

He grabbed one of his cards and slide it along the side. "Digi-modify! Energy shield activate!"

A dome of white light suddenly appeared around the fallen Guardromon, flinging the rat off of him and into the ground, where he vanished. The robot jumped back onto his feet and stared at Kazu. "You...you are my Tamer!"

"And you're my partner!" Kazu shouted back,"Now kick some butt!"

The three remaining Khumbiramons launched forward, but they proved no match for the combined power of Guardromon, Veedramon and Growlmon. The rat Deva, at least, was gone.

""""""""""""""""

Tai and Agumon were riding Nefertimon as they headed towards their target; the large rooster was starting to open his mouth as he hovered about a power plant. "We've got to stop him!" Tai shouted,"If he sucks up that energy, he'll put half the city in a black out!"

"Don't worry," Nefertimon grinned,"No one is faster than I am!" She shot forward and was soon at the rooster's side. "Rosetta Stone!" A massive stone tablet exploded from her front paws and crashed into the rooster's head.

The demonic bird spun around and glared at him. "Did you throw that?"

"That's right," Nefertimon said,"What do you think you're doing?"

"I am expanding my power...You are a digidestined?"

"I am the Master Digidestined," Tai answered.

The rooster did not seem to be affected by this. "I am Sinduramon where is Alice McCoy?"

"I don't know, but I was hoping you could tell me why she is so important?"

"The Sovereign wishes her presence, that is all I know or care about."

Tai was going to ask again, but he became aware of a loud noise heading towards them, from both sides. He turned to the right and saw a devil creature with a bone shaped staff, then he looked to the left and saw a familiar looking young woman hovering in the sky. "Artemis?" he gasped.

The Digital Hunter nodded. "Yes, Master Digidestined. Tell me, what is happening here?"

"I am Sinduramon," the rooster said,"I am one of the Devas, here to secure Alice McCoy."

"But that's why we're here!" a voice shouted from below. The group looked down and saw an older teenage man on one of the building roofs. "I am Greg Baker, a Tamer here on behalf of the Dark Master Digidestined. That is my partner, Skull Satanmon."

Artemis shouted at Skull Satanmon. "You're the one who is killing all those people! And you nearly killed my f...nearly killed Yamaki!"

Barker grinned."We are searching for Alice as well." He pointed at Tai,"And we're going to make you tell us where she is!"

Artemis glanced at Tai. "Do you know where the girl is?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't!"

"You're lying!" Skull Satanmon shouted,"And I'm going to make you tell me!" He turned to Sinduramon do you say we team up to take these guys down?"

Sinduramon laughed in a crowing voice,"Yes, I'd enjoy that!"

Tai turned to Artemis. "I know we didn't really get along the last time we met, but since we're both trying to save this girl..."

The Digital Hunter nodded. "Yes, choose your digimon fighter."

"Nefertimon, take us down, then change into Angewomon."

The flying cat hovered to a rooftop. Agumon turned to Tai. "What about me?"

"You lost your ability to evolve normally when you gave your powers to Imperial Dramon, remember?" he asked as both of them jumped onto the roof,"Azulongmon gave us the power to warp digivolve to mega, nothing else. I'd prefer to keep my trump card hidden until absolutely necessary."

Agumon sighed, "All right."

Tai held up the pink digivice, and Nefertimon changed back into Gatomon. As the cat fell to the ground, she quickly digivolved to Angewomon, then shot back to hover by Artemis. "Let's go!"

""""""""""""""""""""""

Back in the subway, the snake, Santiramon, was enjoying batting the two digimon around. Kyuubimon launched forward for an attack, but the snake flicked his tail and the fox went sailing backwards, where she crashed into a abandoned ticket booth. Gargomon took notice of what happened to her, so decided to keep his distance. He positioned his feet firmly on the ground and began firing. "Gargo Pellets!"

Santiramon quickly drew backwards and dodged the projectiles. He slithered forward and wrapped his body around the two digimon, squeezing them tightly. both Kyuubimon and Gargomon tried to fight it, but they soon found themselves screaming.

"Gargomon!" Jenrya shouted.

"Kyuubimon, hang on!" Rika screamed. She grabbed one of her cards and held it between her fingers. "Okay, this one will have to do."

On the sidelines, Calumon's watched with horror as his two friends where being squashed. "Oh, I wish I could help!" he thought. Suddenly, the triangle shaped mark on his head began to glow slightly.

Rika instantly noticed that the card she was holding had changed, it was now completely blue. "The blue card!" she shouted.

"Rika!" Jenrya gasped,"How..where did that come from?"

Rika grinned,"I don't know, but that snake is about to fry! Digimodify! Matrix Digivolution Activate!"

**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**

"Kyuubimon matrix digivolve to Taomon!"

The new Ultimate digimon had enough power to break free of the snake's grip. Gargomon fell to the ground, panting heavily, but Taomon stood her ground, not even flinching.

Santiramon gasped, then grinned. "So, you human digimon do have the power to evolve. Well, it will not do you any good!"

Taomon grinned slightly,"We'll just have to see about that!" She flung backwards and held her long sleeved arms out. "Thousand Spells!" A thousand Japanese characters flew from her sleeves and tore through Santiramon's body. He was injured, but not enough to keep him from attacking. He quickly coiled his body around, then stared at Taomon,"You're finished!"

He shot forward, his fangs dripping with saliva. He was inches from the group, whe he suddenly stop. The group was stunned as the snake fell to the ground, a sword slammed in his back. "Where did that come from?" Jenrya gasped. Then, to his amazement, the sword flew from the snake's back and was caught by a man wearing a suit of metal armor.

"Orion," Jenrya growled,"What are you doing here?"

"Saving your lives," he said, placing his sword back into his holder.

"I could have handled him!" Toamon protested.

Orion chuckled,"I wasn't going to take that chance. But, I am impressed with your abilities. Very impressed indeed. I will see you again." He ran up the stairs and was gone.

""""""""""""""""

Angewomon grabbed her scarf and pulled it as tight as she could, to block Skull Satanmon's staff. She kicked him in the stomach and spun around in the air to kick in the face with her other foot. His head twisted around. "How's that?" the angel asked.

Skull Satanmon brought his head back around. He grinned. "I don't know, how's this, doll?"

He slammed his fist into Angewomon's face, twisting her around in the air. The devil slammed his knee into the angel's stomach. Angewomon twirled around again, this time wrapping her scarf around the demon's neck. She growled with anger,"Don't call me doll!"

Artemis swung her daggers into Sinduramon's side, but the rooster swung his clawed foot around and grabbed her arm. He flung her into a building below them, but she twisted around and shot back into the sky. She held her daggers out in front of her, heading straight towards the rooster. Her face was firm and determined as she slammed through Sinduramon's stomach, shattering him apart.

The Digital Hunter turned and faced Skull Satanmon. The demon glanced at his opponents, then at his Tamer. Barker cleared his throat. "You know, perhaps we were a bit hasty in assuming you knew where the McCoy girl is. But make no mistake, we will find her. Skull Satanmon!"

The demon said goodbye, then quickly flew to pick up his Tamer. The two then flew out of sight.

The group met back at the warehouse, Takato and Kasumi had brought Jeri, Kazu and Guardromon with them. The two new teenagers were totally in awe. "I don't believe that my own teacher is the Master Digidestined!" Kazu gasped,"You're like the strongest guy in the entire city!"

Tai smiled slightly,"Just remember that the next time that you don't do your homework."

Kazu gulped, but Jeri was still grinning. "Do you know that Takato almost died trying to save you a few days ago?"

"What?"

Takato quickly placed his palm over Jeri's mouth. "Oh, nothing."

Tai just sighed slightly. "You _are_ going to tell later."

Takato sighed. "Yes, sir."

Rika chuckled. "By the way, Goggle-head, guess who's got a new Ultimate?"

Takato stared at her, then crossed his arms. "Well, that's great for you!"

"Everyone, I need your attention up here!" Tai called,"You've all done very well today, and I am very impressed with all of you." He turned to Takato and Rika,"Espically you two. I expect great things for all of you." He looked at his watch,"Well, we've got a few more hours before it gets dark." He grinned,"Let's get started, shall we?"

Rika turned to Takato. "I wouldn't worry too much about trying to reach the Mega level, Renamon is the only one who is powerful enough to do it." She grinned,"And once she does, I'll be reclaiming my title."

Takato growled at her. "Yeah, well, don't think that I'll give it up that easily. I'm the strongest now, and don't forget it."

Rika stared at him, then smashed her foot into a wooden crate.

to be continued...


	8. Quest: Chapter 2

_Tai quickly looked to where she was pointing. There was a sixteen-year-old girl with long blackish brown hair, wearing a red jacket, a wool skirt, and a red hat jumping up and down and waving her arms. "Daddy! Daddy!"_

_Tai grinned and charged through the crowd. He nearly tackled the girl to the ground. He hugged her tightly. "Kasumi!" he almost shouted,"You finally made it."_

_Yamaki lifted up his left arm and bent it. He knew it was moving, but he did not feel the same feeling that a normal person would. It was more like a set of numbers were flashing across his brain, sending him the knowledge that his arm was bent, but not the normal sensation of feeling. He sighed as he leaned back against his hospital pillow and stared at the ceiling._

_The door opened a second later, "Dad?"_

_He turned and saw a blue haired teenage girl, wearing a blue jumper standing in the doorway. "Miki?" he gasped. The girl ran into the room, and was soon followed by a red headed woman and the doctor._

_"Riley?" he asked, as he was hugged by his daughter._

_The red headed woman smiled, uncomfortably. "I thought I should call her." _

_Yamaki nodded."Thank you."_

_"Daddy," Miki said, hugging him,"Are you okay? What happened?"_

_"I was attacked by that digimon, Skull Satanmon."_

_"Oh jeeze! Are you okay?"_

_"Actually," the doctor said, stepping forward,"There was extensive damage to your legs, right arm, and the left side of your face. We used the latest in cybernetic technology and research. In addition to still being able to walk, you should now have impressive strength, far above that of Artemis, or even Orion. As an added bonus, you should be able to fly."_

_He nodded. "Yes, I..I understand, thank you."_

_"Wow, Dad!" Miki grinned,"You're a cyborg too! That's so cool!" He grinned and lightly rubbed the top of her head. He turned to Riley._

_"What happened while I was out?"_

_Rika instantly noticed that the card she was holding had changed, it was now completely blue. "The blue card!" she shouted._

_"Rika!" Jenrya gasped,"How..where did that come from?"_

_Rika grinned,"I don't know, but that snake is about to fry! Digimodify! Matrix Digivolution Activate!"_

_**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**_

_"Kyuubimon matrix digivolve to Taomon!"_

_Rika turned to Takato. "I wouldn't worry too much about trying to reach the Mega level, Renamon is the only one who is powerful enough to do it." She grinned,"And once she does, I'll be reclaiming my title."_

_Takato growled at her. "Yeah, well, don't think that I'll give it up that easily. I'm the strongest now, and don't forget it."_

_Rika stared at him, then smashed her foot into a wooden crate._

**December 18, 2015**

Quest:

Chapter 2:

The dog Deva, Chatsuramon, appeared on the morning news again. "Attention citizens of Tokyo, by now you know who I am. Nevertheless, I am Chatsuramon, a messenger from the Sovereign of the Digital World. Hand over Alice McCoy now! Do not hide her, she is not worth the destruction of this city. You have disregarded my warning for far too long! A group of my fellow Devas are descending towards the city as we speak! If you do not hand Alice McCoy over before eight o'clock this evening, you will have a much more powerful threat to deal with. This is your last chance, hand over Alice McCoy and hand over the Catalyst now!"

This message was seen on all of the televisions in the city, including the small portable one being held by a human monkey while he rode atop a thirty foot flying dragon. "That fool!" the monkey growled,"He would announce our presence to the entire world to find a helpless little girl! He would destroy the city along with the girl!" The monkey stood up,"I, Makuramon, will find Alice McCoy and will deliver her to the Sovereign! Come Migiramon."

The dragon launched off of the building's roof and too to the sky.

Down below, a blond teenage girl wearing an odd black dress ran down the sidewalk. She quickly dove into an alley and hid behind a large green dumpster. She sat down and brought her legs to her chest. She buired her face in her knees and started to sob. "Oh, what's going on? Why are those..those monsters after me? I didn't do anything to them! Why is this happening to me?"

She took a few deep breaths, her tears dripping onto her black tights. "I can't even go back home, they're waiting for me there! This isn't fair! I don't believe this! This can't be happening!"

She heard a loud noise boom from the street and quickly shot her head to the alley's entrance, a fire engine rolled by. She took a deep breath, then got to her feet. "I've got to keep moving. I can't be captured. I don't know what they want me for, but it can't be good."

She took a deep breath, then Alice McCoy ran out of the alley.

""""""""""""""""

Rika frowned as she leaned back in the cushy chair of the waiting room, her injured ankle was resting on a pile of magazines on the small table in front of her. She glanced down at the outfit her mother had forced her into, a short sleeve pink and white dress that she was sure Little Bo Peep wore. Her frown turned into a growl when she spied her mother talking to her agent or photographer or something, she never really paid attention.

Her mother was so busy talking to the man, that she did not even notice Rika's disapproval. "I'm so grateful that you agreed to this camera test for my little Rika. I'm telling you, she's the girl next door, well, that is if you live next to a gas station." She chuckled slightly.

"That's no problem, Rumiko. I'd be happy to do a favor for the most beautiful model in the city."

The blond woman smiled,"Well, that goes without saying." She sighed. "I apologize for her ankle, it seems she hurt it doing _something _or other."

"No that's fine," the man smiled,"It'll be perfect, we need to add more diversity in our models, and with her on her crutches, she'll look just perfect!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Rika finally snapped. She jumped onto her feet, and winced slightly at the pain she felt in her inured ankle. "I'm not going to be some pin-up in some teenage boy locker! This whole thing is stupid, and frankly, I'd rather eat worms! And this dress itches!"

"That is a designer dress, young lady!" Rumiko snapped,"and frankly, you are acting like a baby!"

Mother and daughter stared at each other for a few minutes before the man stepped between them. "Now now," he chuckled slightly. He addressed the teenager,"Now Rika, I'm sure that with your good looks you must be the most popular kid in your class, and if not, they're all jealous!"

Rika smiled slightly. "Well, of course they're jealous of me, I am the best after all."

The man returned the smile, then handed Rika a pair of crutches that matched her dress. "Now come on, why don't you just give it a try?"

Rika smiled and she took the crutches. "There's your pretty smile," the man said, leading her into the studio.

While Rika was at her photo shoot, the rest of the Tamers were at school, enjoying their lunch period. Tai had left Miss Isage in charge of the class room, and, despite the fact that she was only a student teacher, the class remained under control. Takato, Kazu and Jeri were trying to convince Miki and Kenta of their experiences with the Digital World.

"I'm telling you man!" Kazu said,"Takato and I are Tamers! We're not kidding!"

"Yeah right," Kenta snorted,"Takato and Kazu are just trying to fool me, that do it all the time, but I didn't think you would do something like that, Jeri."

"But they are telling the truth!" the brunette sighed,"We're not making it up!"

"You guys are just trying to fool us!" Miki protested,"Why would Digimon choose you two losers as partners?"

"Hey!" Takato snapped,"If you don't believe us, then why don't you come with us when we train later?"

"Sorry," Miki said,"I've got too much work to do."

"Well, if she won't go, then I will," Kenta said."

"You will?"

"That's right. You're going to prove this to me!"

The classroom door opened and Tai walked inside. "Mr. Matsuki," he called, passing Takato's desk,"I need to speak with you."

The young Tamer ignored the laughs that Kenta and Kazu were giving him, and he followed Tai into the hall again. "Yes, sir?"

"Rika left me an e-mail. She's at a photo shoot with her mother. She wants us to pick her up before we head over to the training site."

"Photo shoot?" Takato asked, confused.

Tai sighed. "Yeah, you know, what models do?"

Takato could not help but laugh. "Rika's a model? Ha!"

"That's enough," Tai snapped,"She's your team mate, and you need to treat her with respect, understand?"

Takato gulped. "Yes sir," he sighed.

"""""""""""""""

Rika limped out of the building rather then use the crutches that the stupid photographer had given her. She had never felt so humiliated in all of her life. She hoped those pictures never came out.

"Rika!" her mother called, running through the doors after her,"Rika, come back here this instant!"

Rika stopped in front of the building, staring at the street. "I'm not going back in there _Mother!_"

"Rika Nonaka!" Rumiko stared, but stopped when she saw a group of teenagers walking down the sidewalk. She was going to wait until they passed, but she was surprised when they stopped next to Rika. They must be the friends Rika was going to spend the afternoon with.

"Rika?" Takato gasped,"Is that you?"

The Digimon Queen began to turn red with embarrassment. "Stop laughing, it isn't funny!"

Jeri was the only one that was not laughing. "Rika, I like your dress."

"You would," she mumbled.

"Rika!" Rumiko snapped, running over to her,"Be polite!"

The group of Tamers all stared at the older woman. Rika sighed,"Guys, this is my mother."

"Rumiko Makino, pleasure to met you," she bowed.

"Wow!" Kazu gasped,"Rumiko Makino!"

Rika's mother smiled slightly."Oh, you've heard of me?"

"Yeah!" Kazu exclaimed. "I've got a few of your magazines under my..ah..never mind."

"Kazu!" Takato snapped. He looked Rika over. "What are you suppose to be, Little Bo Peep?"

"Takato, that wasn't nice!" Jeri said,"I brought some spare clothes Rika, if you want to change into them."

Rika stared at Jeri's face, and could not help but smile back. "No, that's okay. I've got some spare clothes inside."

"Well come on then," Rumiko said, grabbing Rika's hand,"Let's get you changed."

Rika was shocked as her mother lead her back inside,"Mom, are you okay? You're actually not going to put up a fuss about me going?"

"Well, the photo shoot is over, and besides, its nice to see you making friends."

_"Friends?"_ the Digimon Queen thought,"_A..are they my friends? I..I don't need any friends, I'm just in this for the training that's all! I don't need or want friends...do I?"_

"""""""""""""""""""

"But, Yamaki," Hakkado protested, as he followed the Hypnos commander into the conference room," Surely these Devas are far more dangerous than a young man and a digimon. They're ready to destroy this entire city, simply to get their hands on a girl."

"That Barker and his Skull Satanmon were eager to acquire McCoy as well," Yamaki pointed out.

"But he has not destroyed large sections of this city! That rooster was ready to plunge this city into a blackout!"

"Skull Satanmon has been responsible for every murder committed thus far, including this one!" Yamaki slammed a folder into Hakkado's hands. The other man began reading.

"Henderson, Saffron..American?"

"British."

"Ah, Henderson, Saffron, 47, Chief Executive of Production at...Sony? Well, they certain are moving up in the world, but what does the Master Digidestined want with all these deaths?"

"That brings up another point," Yamaki said,"Artemis said that Barker was ready to kill both her and the Master Digidestined. Why would one of his own Tamers do that?"

Hakkado thought for a moment. "Maybe he was disappointed with him?"

Yamaki ignored him. "Barker called himself a 'Dark Tamer.' Could that possibly mean that there is a Dark Master Digidestined? Have we..have we spent all this time, trying to apprehended an ally?"

Hakkado was about to protest, but Yamaki cut him off. "Henderson's death makes four. One more and, as Ice Devimon put it, 'Armageddon begins.'

The intercom on the wall beeped. "Yamaki here, what is it?"

"Sir, Dr. Wong is here to see you."

"Send him in." The Hypnos Commander faced Hakkado,"We will have to continue this later."

"Right," he frowned, then exited. A second later, a man with a tint of blue hair and glasses appeared.

"Hello?"

"Dr. Wong, I presume?" Yamaki asked.

The older man nodded,"Yes, who are you?"

"I am Commander Mitsuo Yamaki, welcome to Hypnos."

"What is this place?"

"This is entire para-military organization was created to fix the mistakes that you and your fellow Monster Makers unleashed upon the world."

Wong was shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"Your 'digimon' have evolved."

"What?"

Yamaki quickly gave Wong a brief history of what had already occurred. After he was done, Wong felt his knees go weak, and he had to sit down. "By now you've heard of the reports on the morning news?" Yamaki asked.

"Yes," Wong said,"But I had no idea it was my fault."

"It may not entirely be your cause," he said,"It seems that the Digimon have an omnipotent master, they call it 'Sovereign.' He is the one who is to blame for everything that has happened thus far. But tell me, Rob McCoy was a fellow Monster Maker, wasn't he?"

Wong nodded. "Yes, we called him Dolphin."

"Tell me, is there any reason that the Digimon would be after his granddaughter?"

Wong stared him straight in the eyes. "Alice McCoy is Dolphin's granddaughter?"

The Hypnos commander frowned. "I see, you didn't even know he had one, did you?"

"No..."

Yamaki frowned. "Both the Devas and these..Dark Tamers want Alice McCoy, we must find out why."

The two men suddenly heard Riley's voice over the loud speaker in the room. "Yamaki, we're registering a massive bio-merg!"

"Massive?"

"Yes, sir. Something larger than anything we have ever seen before!"

"I'm on my way!" Yamaki cried. He turned to Wong. "Do you want to join me?"

Wong hesitated, the nodded. "Sure."

""""""""""""""""""

Inside of the abandoned building on the intersection of 23th and 5th in Shinjuku, Tai's training continued. The Tamers were balancing on one leg atop tall ladders, arranged in two lines down the floor's center. Tai paced the floor between the two lines. "Keep it up you guys, you're doing great."

"Mr. Kamiya!" Kazu whined as he struggled to keep from falling off of the ladder,"Why do we have to do this?"

Tai stopped in the center and crossed his arms. He glanced at Takato, Kasumi and Jenrya, then at Rika. "Miss Nonaka, can you enlighten him?"

Rika balanced on the ladder with her good ankle and kept her arms stretched out as she spoke,"A digimon's strength comes from his or her partner. If the partner becomes stronger, then the digimon is able to take more energy from him or her."

Tai nodded. "Very good."

Takato huffed,"Teacher's pet!" he mumbled.

On the other side of the warehouse, the Tamer's digimon were busy with their own training. Agumon was currently in battle with Guillmon. The two dinosaurs tore into each other with such ferocity that it would have been life and death if it was not a practice match.

Watching from the sidelines were Jeri and Kenta-who was watching wide-eyed. "You guys really are telling the truth!"

"Of course we were," Jeri sighed.

The two teenagers turned their attention back to the digimon's training session. Agumon landed on top of Guillmon's head, which brought the red dinosaur's head to the ground. Agumon jumped back off and was about to attack again, when Guillmon's eyes suddenly dilated. "Guillmon?" Agumon asked,"What's wrong?"

"It's a digimon!" Terrerimon gasped as his ears stood straight up,"A very powerful one. Jenrya!"

The digimon ran over to their Tamers. "Digimon are appearing!"

The Tamers started to wobble, then fell off of their ladders. Rika was gracefully caught by Renamon, but everyone else slammed into the ground. Luckily, Tai had placed gymnastic mats along the ground.

"Come on guys," their teacher said,"We've got a job to do."

By the time Guillmon and Terriermon had led the group to the point of the bio-merge, a thick fog had already fallen over the soccer stadium. "The Digital Feild is still here," Jenrya said,"That means the digimon are too."

"Excuse me, but you're Tamers, aren't you?"

The group turned around and saw that the question had been asked by a young girl who was standing behind them. There was a boy standing next to her, and they both appeared to be around six or seven. Most surprisingly, however, was the small devil-dog creature that was standing at the feet. "You are Tamers, right?" the boy asked.

"Yes," Tai said,"I am the Master Digidestined of Tokyo. Who are you?"

The girl bowed. "I am Ai, this is my brother Mako, and this is our digimon partner, Impmon."

The small digimon waved his hand. "Pleased ta meet'cha!"

"We've been looking for you for a long time," Mako said.

"More Tamers?" Kazu asked,"They're popping up all over the place."

"Is your digimon able to evolve?" Tai asked. The two young children grinned.

"Yes, he can."

Tai thought for a moment, then said,"Okay, I want you three to stay by my digimon and myself, okay?"

All three nodded.

"What about us, Mr. Kamiya?" Takato asked.

"You guys are going to fight. I'll monitor the battle, and if necessary, we'll jump in, but I want to see how well you fight."

"Works for me," Renamon said.

The inside of the stadium was quiet, so quiet that the Tamers had thought they had made a mistake. They slowly walked onto the grassy field. "What's going on?" Terriermon asked,"This place is cleaner then your bedroom, Jenrya."

"Hah hah, very funny."

The group heard a banging noise from the bleachers. When they turned to investigate, they saw that Orion was standing with his arms crossed. "Greetings."

"What are you doing here?" Takato demanded,"If you want a rematch.."

"I am here because we have detected an emergence. Although, I don't see anyone."

"Neither do we," Tai said,"Maybe we were wrong?"

Orion just chuckled and jumped onto the field. He unknowingly passed over a figure hiding beneath one of the bleachers-Alice McCoy.

_"What are they doing here?"_ she thought,"_Wait, they're not the ones that were at Grandpa's apartment. They're...different." _She heard the familiar sound when someone walked down the bleachers. She saw a small white digimon hopping down the stairs. "_Wow, that ones kind of cute."_

A loud, threatening voice suddenly echoed from all around.. "Greetings, Tamers, it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Who are you?" Tai demanded.

"Ah, the Master Digidestined is with you. Very interesting."

"I'm not talking to a voice!" Tai shouted,"Show yourself!"

"Very well, look in front of you."

The group watched as three figures appeared from one of the tunnels: a bull and sheep that resembled centaurs and a massive blue skinned dog. "Chatsuramon, I presume?" Tai asked, crossing his arms.

"Yes, and allow me to introduce Vajramon and Panjamon. They will be your executioners."

"No way!" Takato said,"Ready guys?"

Takato, Jenrya, Rika, and Kasumi grabbed their Evolution cards and slashed them through. "Digi-Modify! Digivolution Activate!"

**DIGIVOLUTION**

"Guillmon digivolve to Growlmon!"

"Renamon digivolve to Kyuubimon!"

"Terriermon digivolve to Gargomon!"

"Snow Agumon digivolve to Veedramon!"

Orion was about to jump in, but Tai stepped in front of him. "I would like the Tamers to handle this themselves. I want to see how powerful they really are."

Orion stared at him, then chuckled slightly. "All right, why not?"

With five against two, the odds should have been in the Tamer's favor, but the two Devas were Ultimates, and so the odds were evened out. The girls battled against Panjamon, while the three boys took on Vajramon.

"Go Veedramon!" Kasumi cheered, hoping up and down on her feet. Rika stared at her in disgust.

"What're you? A cheerleader?"

Tai's daughter sneered back at her. "It's better then being an ice queen, isn't it?"

The two girls sneered at each other, but their own enmity was broken apart when they heard their digimon being battered against by the massive sheep. Kyuubimon was already being pinned down by Panjamon's hoofs, while Veedramon was pounding her fists into the Deva's face.

"Kyuubimon!" Rika shouted,"Get up! You're embarrassing me!"

"Sorry Rika," the fox said. She managed to get her foot into the ground and propelled herself out of the sheep's grip. She rebounded off the ground and charged back at the sheep. "Veedramon, get out of the way!"

The dragon dinosaur did as she was told. Kyuubimon jumped into the air and started to spin around. "Dragon's Wheel!"

Instead of running to avoid the attack, Panjamon charged forward. She dove under Kyuubimon's attack and whacked her crossbow into Kyuubimon's face. She was sent flying backwards into Veedramon. Both Digimon were knocked into the ground.

Vajramon was more powerful then Panjamon, and had already disposed of Guardromon. Growlmon and Gargomon were engaged in a two-on-one attack. Vajramon whipped out his swords and smacked the blunt edge of his sword into the dinosaur's chin. He stumbled backwards but Vajramon did not stop his attack. He jumped into the air and landed on top of Growlmon, crushing him to the ground.

"Gargomon!" Jenrya shouted,"You're the only one left!"

Gargomon began firing his from his gun barrels at Vajramon's back. The bull turned around and glared at him. "Ha! That's not going to stop me!" He charged forward.

"Gargomon!" Jenrya shouted. He grabbed one of his cards. "Digi-modify: Recharge activate!"

All of Gargomon's gun barrels were reloaded and he began firing again. All of his bullets bounced harmlessly off of the bull's body. "You're doomed!"

Jenrya held up another card, but when he turned it, the card changed completely blue. "The blue card!" he gasped. He quickly slid it through his D-Arc. "Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution Activate!"

Takato suddenly saw a beam of red light fire into the sky. When he turned to investigate, he saw Calumon lying on the ground. "What the?"

**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**

"Gargomon matrix digivole to Rapidmon!"

Jenrya gasped. "R..rapidmon?"

The new digimon zoomed in front of Vajramon "Hello, here I am!" He slammed his foot into the bull, then shot in front of Panjamon. He threw her into the fallen Vajramon.

"You two are real losers!" he laughed.

The two Devas climbed to their feet. "I'll kill you!" Panjamon shouted.

"Not a chance!" Rapidmon laughed. He flew into the air and quickly formed a triangle with his body. "Tri-beam!"

A beam of light in the shape of a triangle shot from his body and vaporized the two digimon. Jenrya breathed a sigh of relief.

Chatsuramon was in complete shock. "You destroyed two of the most powerful Devas! You will be punish for this sacrilege!"

"Bring it on!" Rapidmon shouted,"You're no match for us!"

"Hah!" the dog laughed,"I will not be the one to destroy you."

"What?"

""""""""""""""

Inside of the Hypnos control room, the doomed ceiling was glowing a bright red. "What's going on here?" Wong asked.

"We're registering an emergence," Tally reporter,"An incredible powerful one. This is like nothing we have seen before!"

""""""""""""""""""

The fog surrounding the stadium suddenly started to become much thicker. "What's going on?" Kasumi asked.

"Another emergence," Orion said, tapping the side of his helmet,"Something's really big is coming through."

The group watched in the sky as a massive figure began to shimmer into view, a gigantic phoenix that covered the entire stadium in shadow. "The Sovereign!" Chatsuramon cried.

"That's the Sovereign!" Renamon gasped. The fox woman was always so calm and in control. Seeing her lose her composure like that filled the others with less then confidence. The Tamers, their digimon, and even Orion were cowering against the walls of the field. Calumon had journeyed to the ground, and was hiding beside them. Only Tai, Gatomon and Agumon stared straight at the Sovereign.

"So, you're the Devas's leader?"

"Ah, the Master Digidestined," the phoenix said,"I am surprised to see you here. I believe we had an agreement..."

Tai crossed his arms. "My agreement is with Azulongmon, not you! Besides which, I know you are the Guardian of the South, but I don't believe I've had the pleasure."

"I am Zhuqiaomon," the phoenix said,"And I am the protector of the Digital World! I am here to locate the Catalyst and Alice McCoy, where are they?"

"I don't know," Tai said, flatly,"Why are you after her?"

"If you must know, she possess a journal of a traveler that accidentally fell into our world..."

"_Journal?"_ Alice thought, peering at the digimon from her hiding place beneath the bleachers.

"What about this Catalyst?"

"That is a closely guarded secret of the Digital World," the phoenix said,"Where is Alice McCoy?"

"I told you, I don't know."

"Then die! Phoenix Fire!" Zhuqiaomon spit a stream of fire balls from his beak. Each one shot towards the Master Digidestined of Tokyo.

"Master Kamiya!" Rika shouted.

"Daddy!" Kasumi screamed.

"Mr. Kamiya! Look out!" Takato shouted. He ran up behind his teacher and pushed him out of the way. Unfortunately, he instead was hit with the blasts of fire and thrown onto the ground.

"Takato!" Tai screamed. He and Agumon charged forward. Tai knelt down next to the young teenager, but Agumon was covered in a white light and Wargreymon shot towards Zhuqiaomon.

"You honestly think you can challenge me?" the phoenix laughed,"Very well, let's see what you can do."

Wargreymon did not answer him as he slammed his claw into Zhuqiaomon's beak. His head was thrown back, but Wargreymon did not stop his assault. He kicked the other side of the phoenix's beak and thrown to the other side. He twisted in the air and knocked both of his feet into Zhuqiaomon's neck.

Hiding in the shadows of the night, Makuramon and Migiramon watched the battle between Wargreymon and their Sovereign. "I don't believe it!" the monkey gasped,"He's actually fighting back Zhuqiaomon!"

Wargreymon finished his assault by creating a massive ball of energy in his hands. "Terra Force!" He flung it forward, where it exploded on contact against Zhuqiaomon's face. When the smoke cleared, the phoenix god still remained, but bruised and injured slightly.

"Do not think you have defeated me," he growled,"You could never hope to defeat me in battle! But, now is neither the time nor the place. The Digital World needs me, I can not remain here any longer. Come Chatsuramon." Both the phoenix and the dog were covered once again in white fog, then vanished.

Back on the ground, Tai examined Takato. He was severely burned across all of his body, and he was not moving. "Takato! Takato!" he screamed.

The other Tamers were at his side. "Dad," Kasumi asked, her voice quivering,"Is he...?"

Tai nodded."Y..yeah."

"Takato-mon!" Guillmon howled,"Takato-mon!"

"He's..he's gone?" Orion asked, in awe,"I..I don't believe it."

"He's gone," Rika said with disbelief,"He..he can't be."

Tai took a few deep breaths, holding back his tears. He was about to reach down and lift up Takato's body, when Orion stepped in front of him. "I'll take him. Hypnos can arrange everything." Before Tai could protest the Digital Hunter grabbed Takato's body and flew off.

"Come back here!" Tai shouted. He turned to the Tamers. "You guys, go home! I'm going after Takato...Takato's body." Gatomon digivolved to Nefertimon, and they flew off. The Tamers slowly walked out of the stadium.

The next few hours were a blur to the Tamers. After wandering the streets, they found themselves at Tai's apartment.Kasumi invited everyone inside and they sat around the living room, staring at each other. Takato was dead, and there was nothing they could do about it.

"I feel so useless," Jenrya finally said,"I should have been able to save him!"

Kazu sighed. "I know, Takato was my best friend, and now he's dead."

"Takato's dead!"

The Tamers spun around and saw Jeri and Kenta standing in the doorway. Kenta was shaken, and Jeri had tears forming in her eyes. "What did you just say?"

"What are you two doing here?" Rika asked.

"Oh, I told them where Dad and I lived," Kasumi shrugged slightly.

"Yeah," Kenta said,"You guys just left us at the warehouse.."

Jenrya jumped up and walked over to the light brown haired girl. "Jeri, I'm sorry, but.."

"No!" she sobbed,"No, it can't be! He can't be gone!"

Jenrya stared at the floor,"I'm...I'm sorry."

"Takato," Jeri sobbed, falling to her knees,"Takato.."

Calumon frowned as he saw with the other digimon inside of Guillmon's hideout in the park. The small digimon's ears shrunk into his head. "Why did Takato have to leave?"

"It is the way of this world," Renamon said, leaning against the wall,"It is something that we do not have any control over."

"It's still not fair," Snow Agumon said.

Impmon was standing slightly away from the others, and saw that Guillmon was slouched on the floor. "Hey, are you okay?"

"No," Guillmon sighed,"I don't have a Tamer anymore. Takato-mon was my friend, now he's gone."

Impmon put his hand on the large dinosaur's back. "Don't worry, we'll get that bird brain!"

"Impmon's right!" Terriermon said,"We'll bash that Sovereign! He's not gonna get away with this!"

The surge of excitement did not do anything to change Guillmon's depression. "Takato-mon..."

""""""""""""""

Inside of the Hypnos building, Yamaki and Hakkado watched as Takato's body was scanned through a machine resembling a MRI. The Hypnos commander examined the information that appeared on the computer screen. He frowned. "Didn't find what you were looking for?" Hakkado asked.

Yamaki pointed to a line of information that had appeared on the screen. "Just as I thought, his body is exhibiting strong signs of digital energy."

"So?"

Yamaki crossed his arms,"Digimon are able to be reborn. I thought that there might have been a chance we could resuscitate him, but it's no use, he's gone." He glanced at his watch,"I'll arrange for a funeral service tomorrow. It's the least I can do."

"You'd better be careful," Hakkado grinned slightly,"You're starting to become soft."

"Very funny."

The two men left and shut the door behind them. If they had kept it open, they would have heard the computer beep. More then that, they would have seen Takato's fingers twitch slightly.

At the bottom of the Hypnos building was the massive storage facility. Hidden within the far wall was the doorway to another storage facility off limits to everyone except those with the highest security level, such as Orion.

The Digital Hunter moved past the various boxes and metal containers until he reached a large cylinder shaped one attached to the far wall. He moved over to a small control box near the center and moved his finger over a large red button.

"How could this have happened?" he asked himself,"Why did this happen? That Tamer was just a kid, hmm, since when did I become such an old man? Heh." He shook his head,"No, this isn't the time to laugh. I should have prevented this, but I was too cocky. I thought I could do anything, this metal suit gave me so much power, but it took everything from my memory and my heart. I forgot who I truly was, where I came from. Well, no more!"

He pressed the red button on the console. The cylinder on the far wall began to hum slightly as it slid open. A dark figure stood inside; when it spied Orion, it growled angrily. "You!"

"Listen up!" Orion order,"I am here to let you free."

"Really? Tell me, what for?"

"Good behavior," Orion grinned,"I'm going to offer you a deal. Things are quickly getting out of hand, and I need my digimon partner. If you agree to do things _my_ way from now on, I'll never imprison you again. But if you disobey me even once..."

"Yes, I understand," the digimon said, then chuckled. "Sure, why not? I think I can deal with taking orders if it means freedom!"

Orion nodded. "Good. Please to be working with you again, Cyberdramon."

to be continued...


	9. Alice

_The dog Deva, Chatsuramon, appeared on the morning news again "Attention citizens of Tokyo, by now you know who I am Nevertheless, I am Chatsuramon, a messenger from the Sovereign of the Digital World Hand over Alice McCoy now! Do not hide her, she is not worth the destruction of this city You have disregarded my warning for far too long! A group of my fellow Devas are descending towards the city as we speak! If you do not hand Alice McCoy over before eight o'clock this evening, you will have a much more powerful threat to deal with This is your last chance, hand over Alice McCoy and hand over the Catalyst now!"_

_This message was seen on all of the televisions in the city, including the small portable one being held by a human monkey while he rode atop a thirty foot flying dragon "That fool!" the monkey growled,"He would announce our presence to the entire world to find a helpless little girl! He would destroy the city along with the girl!" The monkey stood up,"I, Makuramon, will find Alice McCoy and will deliver her to the Sovereign! Come Migiramon"_

_The dragon launched off of the building's roof and too to the sky_

_"Yes," Tai said,"I am the Master Digidestined of Tokyo Who are you?"_

_The girl bowed "I am Ai, this is my brother Mako, and this is our digimon partner, Impmon"_

_The small digimon waved his hand "Pleased ta meet'cha!"_

_Jenrya held up another card, but when he turned it, the card changed completely blue "The blue card!" he gasped He quickly slid it through his D-Arc "Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution Activate!"_

_Takato suddenly saw a beam of red light fire into the sky When he turned to investigate, he saw Calumon lying on the ground "What the?"_

_**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**_

_"Gargomon matrix digivole to Rapidmon!"_

_Jenrya gasped "Rrapidmon?"_

_The new digimon zoomed in front of Vajramon "Hello, here I am!" He slammed his foot into the bull, then shot in front of Panjamon He threw her into the fallen Vajramon_

_"You two are real losers!" he laughed_

_The two Devas climbed to their feet "I'll kill you!" Panjamon shouted_

_"Not a chance!" Rapidmon laughed He flew into the air and quickly formed a triangle with his body "Tri-beam!"_

_A beam of light in the shape of a triangle shot from his body and vaporized the two digimon_

_"Ah, the Master Digidestined," the phoenix said,"I am surprised to see you here I believe we had an agreement"_

_Tai crossed his arms "My agreement is with Azulongmon, not you! Besides which, I know you are the Guardian of the South, but I don't believe I've had the pleasure"_

_"I am Zhuqiaomon," the phoenix said,"And I am the protector of the Digital World! I am here to locate the Catalyst and Alice McCoy, where are they?"_

_"I don't know," Tai said, flatly,"Why are you after her?"_

_"If you must know, she possess a journal of a traveler that accidentally fell into our world"_

_"Journal?" Alice thought, peering at the digimon from her hiding place beneath the bleachers_

_"What about this Catalyst?"_

_"That is a closely guarded secret of the Digital World," the phoenix said,"Where is Alice McCoy?"_

_"I told you, I don't know"_

_"Then die! Phoenix Fire!" Zhuqiaomon spit a stream of fire balls from his beak Each one shot towards the Master Digidestined of Tokyo_

_"Master Kamiya!" Rika shouted_

_"Daddy!" Kasumi screamed_

_"Mr Kamiya! Look out!" Takato shouted He ran up behind his teacher and pushed him out of the way Unfortunately, he instead was hit with the blasts of fire and thrown onto the ground_

_Back on the ground, Tai examined Takato He was severely burned across all of his body, and he was not moving "Takato! Takato!" he screamed_

_The other Tamers were at his side "Dad," Kasumi asked, her voice quivering,"Is he?"_

_Tai nodded"Yyeah"_

_"Takato-mon!" Guillmon howled,"Takato-mon!"_

_"He'she's gone?" Orion asked, in awe,"II don't believe it"_

_"He's gone," Rika said with disbelief,"Hehe can't be"_

_Tai took a few deep breaths, holding back his tears He was about to reach down and lift up Takato's body, when Orion stepped in front of him "I'll take him Hypnos can arrange everything" Before Tai could protest the Digital Hunter grabbed Takato's body and flew off_

_Inside of the Hypnos building, Yamaki and Hakkado watched as Takato's body was scanned through a machine resembling a MRI The Hypnos commander examined the information that appeared on the computer screen He frowned "Didn't find what you were looking for?" Hakkado asked_

_Yamaki pointed to a line of information that had appeared on the screen "Just as I thought, his body is exhibiting strong signs of digital energy"_

_"So?"_

_Yamaki crossed his arms,"Digimon are able to be reborn I thought that there might have been a chance we could resuscitate him, but it's no use, he's gone" He glanced at his watch,"I'll arrange for a funeral service tomorrow It's the least I can do"_

_"You'd better be careful," Hakkado grinned slightly,"You're starting to become soft"_

_"Very funny"_

_The two men left and shut the door behind them If they had kept it open, they would have heard the computer beep More then that, they would have seen Takato's fingers twitch slightly_

_"Really? Tell me, what for?"_

_"Good behavior," Orion grinned,"I'm going to offer you a deal Things are quickly getting out of hand, and I need my digimon partner If you agree to do things my way from now on, I'll never imprison you again But if you disobey me even once"_

_"Yes, I understand," the digimon said, then chuckled "Sure, why not? I think I can deal with taking orders if it means freedom!"_

_Orion nodded "Good Please to be working with you again, Cyberdramon"_

**December 18, 2015**

**Alice**

Yamaki braced his desk as the entire Hypnos building shook. "These earthquakes are getting worse, Yamaki!" Hakkado commented, as he braced against the wall.

"I know," the Hypnos commander said, solemly. He straightened his tie,"But we have more important things to worry about."

"Like what? That Tamer's death?"

Yamaki stared at him,"I did some checking on him. He is named Takato Matsuki." He opened his desk and handed Hakkado a manila folder. The other man opened it and saw pictures of each of the other Tamers. "The girl, who calls herself the Digimon Queen, is really Rika Nonaka, the other boy is Jenrya Wong."

"Wong? You mean, the son of the Monster Maker that's waiting downstairs?"

Yamaki nodded. "Yes, I am going to inform him after we are done with him. As I was saying, we do not have any positive identity on the boy with the Guardromon, nor of the girl with the Snow Agumon. But the one we really want to know is the Master Digidestined, but we've never seen him without his mask."

Hakkado nodded. "You've done well. But maybe, we should..."

There was another tremor, one so severe that the items on Yamaki's shelf fell to the ground. Hakkado wipe his brow. "That was a bad one. Heh." The lights suddenly went off. "What happened?"

Yamaki grabbed his cell phone and dialed a number. "Riley? Yes...I see, how long.. I understand, I'll be up shortly."

"Well?"

"That last tremor knocked out our power. Because of the damage it will take some time to activate the backup power. I'm heading up to the control room."

"I'll join you."

The apartment was abandoned, it had not been used for years, yet, the owner could not bear to part with it. It was the place where a very special person once lived, someone that the owner could never bear to forget, for without the apartment as a reminder, she was fearful that she would forget.

The door to the apartment was flung open and a teenage girl stepped inside. Even though it was dark, her fingers automatically moved to the light switch on the wall. The electric lamps sparked to life, illuminating the well finished apartment. Even the expensive silverware and jewelry remained. The teenage girl stepped inside and took a deep breath, closing her eyes slightly. Alice McCoy had finally returned home.

The first thing she did after closing the door was to move over to the refrigerator. She found that there was still half a can of beer inside. After quickly gulping it down, she fell onto the couch. "I'm finally home," she smiled,"Finally."

Her mind suddenly wandered back to the events of earlier this evening. Her smile quickly faded when she thought of that Tamer with the goggles, he would never be returning home again. She knew that he was younger then her, but it could not have been by that much. He probably had a group of friends that he always hung out with, maybe he even had a girlfriend. She thought of his parents, they might never recover from losing their son. She had lost all of her family, and while it was too late to save him, maybe she could help save all the others that might get in the way of the forces that wanted her.

"Not me," she said to herself,"That journal." She sat up and glanced around the small apartment,"Now, where would Grandpa had hidden it?"

Alice ran into her grandfather's office and started to search through his desk drawers. Aside from papers and notebooks, there was not anything that could be called a journal. She moved into her grandfather's bedroom and tore the place apart, still no journal.

She searched the entire apartment from her bedroom to even the bathroom, but she could not find any trace of a journal. She plopped down on the couch and ran a hand through her hair. "Maybe there is no journal. Yeah, I know Grandpa use to talk about visiting another world, but..." She trailed off as her head hit the back of the couch. "It there's no journal, then why are they after me?"

She rolled her head slightly, then spied the picture of her grandfather and her which was hanging over the mantle piece. It use to hang in her grandfather's room, but he left it do her after his death, with the message to cherish it forever. Could it be..?

She ran over to the picture and lifted it off the wall. She ran her fingers around the edge of the back and unattached the back cover. When she pulled the back cardboard out, her heart skipped a beat. Hidden between the painting itself and the back cover was a rectangular book. She quickly started flipping through it. She found the journal.

She was so excited she charged out the door and down the hall. She had what everyone wanted, now all she had to do was get it to the Master Digidestined. He would know what to do.

She ran out of the building, totally unaware that she was being watched by Makuramon and Migiramon.

The Hypnos building certainly had its share of strange and unusual visitors since the Digital Hunting Organization was founded. However, tonight it had its first deceased body. Takato's body had been taken there after Zhuqiaomon's attack. Yamaki had determined that he was not alive. He was wrong.

Takato's body suddenly sat straight up, panting heavily. He glanced around quickly. "W..where am I? Wait..who..who am I? I.. I don't know who I am!" He almost broke into a panic, but was too groggy and woozy to really care. All he knew was that he had to get out of that cold metal room. He spied his clothes lying on a chair to the side. He quickly got dressed, then stumbled out of the room. There was not anyone in the halls, and the lights were all out. He easily slid out through a side door.

The other Tamers were still seated inside of the Kamiya's living room. All except for Ai, Mako and Impmon. They were just little children, and their parents would be worried if they were not back home. Each one of the remaining teenagers had never dealt with death before, and as far as they knew, Takato was dead, killed by Zhuqiaomon.

"We really didn't get that long to know him, ya' know," Jenrya shrugged slightly,"I wish I could have."

"Well, we knew him since preschool," Kenta said, mentioning to Kazu, himself and Jeri,"We knew him for a long t-time."

Jeri started sobbing louder,"Oh Takato, why did you have to die? Everyone who knows me always dies."

"Jeri," Kasumi gasped,"T..that's not true."

"Yes it is. My mother died, and now Takato." She started crying again, and Kazu made a move to place his hand around her shoulder, but she stood up and ran into the bathroom.

"Darn," he muttered to himself.

The group suddenly heard a loud beeping noise. Rika frowned, then reached into her pocket,"That's my cell phone." She limped on her injured ankle over to look out the balcony window. "Hello? Yes Mom, I...no...listen Mom I am...No! You listen, I am with my friends, and I'll get home when I get home!" She turned the phone off and shoved it back into her pocket. It started to beep again, so she switched it off. She plopped back on the couch.

"I think I'd better call my parents too," Jenrya said,"Can I use your phone?"

Kasumi nodded."It's in the kitchen."

Jenrya left the others and dialed his number. "Hello? Mom? Yeah, it's Jenrya. Yes, I'm okay. I'm just with a...study group. Yeah, we're kinda on a roll with our project and I was wondering...? Yeah? Great, thanks, you're the best?...What? No, I don't know where Dad is, he hasn't called yet? Wow, that's weird. Well, he's probably fine. Yeah, I'll see you later. Bye."

He started to walk into the living room, when a giant shockwave blasted through the apartment. He quickly ran back into the living room. "What was that?" he shouted.

"Earthquake?" Kazu asked.

Jeri came back out of the bathroom. "What happened?"

"That was an earthquake," Rika said, jumping up,"What about the digimon? I mean, I know Renamon's not scared of a little tremor but...you know..."

Jenrya looked at his watch,"Well, I guess we could go see how they're doing. Come on."

""""""""""""""""""""

Tai and his two partners stood in front of the Hypnos building. "Are you sure this is the place where they brought Takato's body?" Gatomon asked.

Tai nodded. "Orion works for Hypnos, we know this is where it's located."

"Why are all the lights off?" Agumon asked.

Tai rubbed his chin. "Maybe they've lost power because of the earthquakes." He grinned,"I think this is a perfect opportunity."

His two partners nodded. "How should we get inside?"

"Let's just walk through the front door." He and his two partners nodded at each other, then ran inside.

"""""""""""""""""

After another tremor blasted through the city, Takato slowly rose to his feet from the alley he was hiding in. "These earthquake blasts are getting stronger." He rubbed his head slightly as he leaned back against the outside of the building. "How come I can remember that and not where I live? Or what my name is?"

He took a deep breath and was about to leave the alley, when he saw a group of teenagers run down the sidewalk. There was one girl in the front, a girl wearing a green jumper and light brown hair, whom he seemed to recognize. He did not know her name, but somewhere her face seemed to move his heart. She had to know who he was!

He jumped out of the alley but she and the rest of the teenagers were gone. The group of teenagers mentioned something about the park, and that's where he was going. He had to, he might find the answer he needed.

"""""""""""""""""""""

Upstairs, Riley, Tally, Yamaki, and Hakkado were resting in the control room, operating on such limited power, that all the commanding crew was able to do was monitor emergences. "I can't take this much longer," Yamaki frowned.

"What is the problem, sir?" Tally asked.

"We are totally defenseless against this invasion," he growled,"These digimon scum can attack us, and we won't be able to defend ourselves!"

Riley called to him. "Sir, we've got a problem."

"What?"

"The Master Digidestined is downstairs, demanding an audience."

"What?"

The Hypnos building was still without power when Tai and his digimon partners charged down the hall of the Digital Hunter building. "What happened here?" Agumon asked.

"It looks like they lost power," Gatomon said,"But why?"

Tai ignored the questions as he lead the two digimon through the halls. "Yamaki," he shouted,"Yamaki! Where are you hiding! Give Takato's body back right now! Yamaki!"

The Master Digidestined and his two partners rounded a corner and came face to face with the Hypnos commander. Yamaki was glaring at him, his arms tightly crossed. "The Master Digidestined, I presume?"

"That's right," Tai said,"We met once before."

Yamaki nodded. "Yes, that night you and Jenrya Wong broke into the laboratory and battled Yuggoth."

Tai's eyes opened wide. "You know his name?"

Yamaki grinned. "I know all about you. Taichi Kamiya, the Master Digidestined of Tokyo. Your true partner Agumon, and your sister's partner Gatomon, which you assimilated after Hikari's death in 2000. You were once the leader of the Digidestineds before they disbanded. According to legend, you are suppose to have awaited the arrival of the Tamers and trained them. For reasons I am not aware of, you did not. And now it seems you are attempting to make up for lost time."

Tai grinned slightly at him,"And I did some checking on you as well. Mitsuo Yamaki, a major in computer technology, you rose to the rank of General in the army, but volunteered to be the head of the Hypnos project. Many said you washed away a bright future after you lost your parents to a digimon attack. You had to pull a _lot_ of strings to get this job, which you still use as a method of revenge against digimon. And apparently you hate the Digidestined, and their quote/un quote 'children,' for defeating Malomyotismon and stealing your chance for revenge."

Yamaki chuckled. "Very good. Tell me, how did you find all that information?"

Tai chuckled,"Your discharge from the army was in all the papers."

"So was your sister's death."

Tai growled. "Now you've gone too far."

Yamaki just stared at him,"What do you want?"

"Takato's body. Give it back now!" He pointed his finger at the Hypnos commander,"This is grave robbing!"

"He is currently being used in the further study of the digital frontier."

Tai took a deep breath, then steped forward,"Gatomon, Agumon, stay back, I will handle this."

Yamaki chuckled. "Just to warn you, I have become much more then..normal." He smashed his hand into the wall, which easily shattered under his new cybernetic strength.

Tai reached inside of his long trench coat and pulled out a long metal tube. The sides swung up to the top to form what appeared to Yamaki to be a sword hilt. His hypothesis was proven to be correct when a long metal blade shot out, forming a perfect sword. Once he did, a glowing aura formed around him. Tai grinned. "I've become more then..normal..as well."

The Hypnos commander bowed slightly. "I'll take your word for it."

The two fighters stared at each other for a few minutes before Agumon coughed slightly. Yamaki leapt forward and swung his metal elbow down to crack Tai's shoulder, but the Master Digidestined blocked with his sword. The two metal objects clanged with a massive sound.

The Master Digidestined thrusted forward and tore the left side of Yamaki's suit, which revealed his new metal torso. Tai gasped slightly, which gave the Hypnos commander the chance to attack Tai's shoulder with his metal arm. The Master Digidestined was thrown into the wall but stumbled back to his feet. He held the sword back up in front of his face.

"I'm impressed," Yamaki said,"With my cybernetic implants, my strength is above even that of Orion. I admit I was holding back, but that attack should of at least shattered your shoulder blade."

Tai just nodded slightly."I'll tell you about it when you're lying on the ground with my sword through your power pack."

The two fighters took a few breaths, then attacked.

""""""""""""""""

"Jenrya!" Terrerimon called as the Tamers walked into Guillmon's small home, "You're back."

"Are you guys okay?" Kasumi asked as Snow Agumon hugged her.

"What was that shaking?" the white dinosaur asked,"It felt like the entire planet was shaking."

"It was, they're called earthquakes."

Rika turned to her partner. "Renamon, are you okay?"

"Of course, what about you?"

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

Guillmon started to whimper in the corner. Jeri walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Everyone has their partner except for me. Takato-mon's gone."

Jeri started to cry again. "I know, I'm sorry."

There was another tremor, that sent the group stumbling to the ground. When the Tamers jumped back on their feet, Jenrya gasped. Terriermon's ears were standing straight up. "Terriermon, don't tell me, a digimon?"

"Yes," Renamon said, glancing at the sky,"A very large one."

"Where?" Rika asked.

"I am analyzing the point of emergence," Guardromon said.

"We don't have the time," Renamon said,"I'll lead you there."

Kazu pushed Rika's wheelchair, while the others ran. They quickly followed the fox out of the building, leaving Guillmon all alone. "Takato..."

The group ran out of the park and into the city itself. Renamon lead them down the sidewalk and through the alleys until finally stopping near the city's center. The digimon all stared to the night sky. "Where is it?" Jenrya asked.

"Just wait," the fox said,"He's coming."

The group stared up at the sky, and suddenly a thick smoke began to appear in front of them. A massive amount of smoke, larger and taller then most buildings. When the smoke cleared, a massive pig stood in its place.

The Tamers were gasping, trying to find their voices as they stared at the gigantic creature in front of them. Jenrya finally was able to hold his D-Arc up to the digimon. "Vikalaramon, Deva beast digimon."

The pig Deva twisted around and started to march down the first street. As Vikalaramon was wider then the entire length of the street, and so tore through the sides of the outer edges of the buildings. The traffic lights did not stand a chance and were easily destroyed. "Oh no!" Kazu gasped.

"Guys!" Jeri shouted,"You've got to stop him!"

Jenrya stared at the back of the massive digimon. "We're going to." He reached into his card deck and pulled out his Digivolution card "Terriermon."

"Do it!"

Rika grabbed her card as well. "Are you ready Renamon?"

"Of course."

Kasumi turned to her partner. "Snow Agumon?"

The white digimon nodded. "Let's go!"

"Digi-modify! Digivolution Activate!"

"Terriermon digivolve to Gargomon!"

"Renamon digivolve to Kyuubimon!"

"Snow Agumon digivolve to Veedramon!"

Jenrya started to run after Vikalaramon. "Let's go!"

"""""""""""""""""

Tai's sword slammed into Yamaki's metal shoulder. The blond warrior spun his leg around and knocked into Tai's shoulder. The Master Digidestined was once again thrown into the wall, but he used his own leg to kick the Hypnos commander in the stomach. He swung his sword around, crashing into Yamaki's metal arm. The two warriors were dead-locked, until Tai kicked Yamaki with both of his feet this time. The Hypmos commander had no choice as he stumbled backwards.

Tai stepped out of the wall and began to swing his sword around with practiced ease before pointing the tip straight at Yamaki's face. "Your move."

The Hypnos commander panted for a few seconds, then attacked. He charged at Kamiya, swinging his right fist at the Master Digidestined's head. Tai blocked with his sword, but Yamaki grabbed him by the other arm and swung him around and around. He finally let go, slamming Tai into the floor. The Master Digidestined dropped his sword and his aura vanished.

"Ah," Yamaki said, rubbing his chin,"That sword is the source of your power, huh?"

Tai was slowly getting to feet when Gatomon and Agumon jumped in front of him. "Leave him alone!" Agumon shouted.

"You'll have to get through us!" Gatomon shouted.

Yamaki stared at the two digimon and was amazed that they where easily ready to die for the Master Digidestined. He was debating whether to even complete his hunt, when the darkened hallway suddenly became as bright as day.

"Power's back!" he gasped,"Finally."

"Commander Yamaki!" Riley's voice sounded over the loudspeaker,"Sensors are back on-line. We're registering a massive surge of digital information. A emergence larger then anything that ever has appeared before. Sir, the Tamers are there also."

"The Tamers?" Tai asked, slowly getting to his feet.

"I'm on my way," Yamaki said into his communicator. He turned to Tai,"Takato Matsuki's body is three floors down in the morgue. You may take it and leave as you will. Or you can come with me and view the battle." He turned around and started walking towards the elevator.

Tai grabbed his sword and it changed it back to is compacted form. He turned to his two partners. "You go and get Takato's body. I'm going with him." Before the two digimon could protest, Tai jumped into the elevator seconds before the door closed.

"""""""""""""""

Gargomon cocked his gun arms and pointed it straight at Vikalaramon. "Gargo Pellets!" He began firing at a rate faster then he ever had before. Unfortunately, it did not do any good, his bullets simply bounced off of Vikalramon's thick hide. The pig did not even give the dog a passing glance as he continued his path of destruction through the city. He tore through one building, and smashed through another. Gargomon continued to fire, but it was as useless as before.

"Gargomon!" Jenrya shouted from the sideline.

"I'm out," he sighed.

Rika chuckled from where her wheelchair was sitting. "Don't worry, Kyuubimon can take him."

Jenrya just glared at her, then back to the battlefield. Kyuubimon was charging straight at Vikalaramon. "What is she doing?" Kazu asked.

Rika smirked at him."Just wait."

"You two are nuts," he mumbled.

Kyuubimon opened her tails and shot balls of fire at the pig. "Fox Tail Inferno!" Her fireballs were enough to cause Gatomon cause to worry, but they had no effect on the massive pig.

"Damn it!" she swore,"Time for plan B." She began to charge again, but jumped into the air and started to spin around,"Dragon's Wheel!" A stream of fire slammed into the pig's snout, but it did not even slow him down. Vikalaramon used the same snout to knock Kyuubimon into a building.

Jenrya sighed as Kasumi and Kazu's digimon tried their luck next, but nothing could even hurt Vikalaramon. They were doomed unless...

He turned to the Digimon Queen. "Rika, quick, do you have the blue card?"

"Do I have the what!" she gasped.

"The blue card! The card we used to advance our digimon to the ultimate level?"

She started to flip through her deck,"No, it's not here!"

"I don't have mine either," he said,"It just disappeared!"

Vikalaramon demolished another building as Kenta and Jeri watched from the sidelines. "If Takato were here, he'd know what to do," Jeri sighed.

Calumon looked up at her from where the brunette was holding him."Don't be sad, Jeri," he said,"They'll think of something."

"Yeah," Kenta said,"Besides, you've got me here."

There was a loud crashing sound as Vikalramon rammed through another group of buildings.

""""""""""""""""

Takato walked through the park, glancing around. Coming to the park had created a mass of problem in his head. His mind was a jumbling mess of thoughts and memories. He did not know where he was going, but his mind and body were pulling him somewhere.

He passed by a group of destroyed trees and his mind flashed an image of a red dinosaur battling a yellow fox. He turned his head around and spied a path leading deeper into the park. He seemed to be drawn to that dirt road. He did not know why, but he soon found himself climbing up the hill until he reached a small concrete building.

"Why...why does that place seem so familiar to me?" He grinned slightly, realizing what this could possibly mean. He ran inside, then screamed. There was a giant red dinosaur staring at him.

"Takato?" the dinosaur gasped,"T..Takato?" He started running towards him.

"S..stay back!" Takato shouted, backing up to the wall,"Stay back!"

The dinosaur started sniffing him. "Takato, it is you!" he shouted with joy. He was about to wrap his arms around him, but Takato slipped out of the way. The dinosaur looked at him funny. "Takato? What's wrong with you?"

"S..stay back!" he said,"I...I didn't know that you lived here, please...don't eat me."

"Don't you know who I am?"

"S..should I?"

The dinosaur's smile faded. "You...you don't know me?"

Takato moved his hands away from his face and stared hard at the dinosaur's face. He did recognize him, something deep inside of him did. His name was right on the tip of his tongue. He tried hard to remember. He dug deeper and deeper. He finally opened his mouth. "G..G...Guillmon! You're name is Guillmon!"

"Yes, you do remember!" Guillmon shouted, jumping up and down. He suddenly stopped and stared at him,"Takato, the others probably need us."

"The others?" he asked.

Guillmon grabbed his arm and lead him out the door,"I'll explain on the way."

"""""""""""""

Tai slowly limped into the Hypnos control room and gasped. "I..I don't believe this."

Yamaki grinned when he saw the look on the Master Digidestined's face. "You like it, huh?"

Tai watched as Riley and Tally moved around in their elevated chairs. "We're getting visual now," Tally called.

Tai and Yamaki watched as the dome ceiling changed to an image of down town Tokyo, which was currently being demolished by Vikalaramon. "This is happening now?" Tai gasped.

"Yes, Master Kamiya," Riley sighed, "Unfortunately."

"What's the damage report?" Yamaki asked.

"Extensive property damage, estimated in the millions," Tally said, before quickly adding,"And rising quickly."

"That's a residential area!" Tai said to Yamaki.

The Hypnos commander nodded. "Yes, Tally, began evacuation procedure for Shinjuku. You'd better evacuate the surrounding boroughs as well."

"Yes sir."

Tai took a few deep breaths, then stumbled backwards. "Are you okay?" Yamaki asked.

"Y..yeah," he said,"Just..I'm feeling a little tired, that's all."

He grabbed the chair he used while sitting in the control room and rolled it over to him. "Here."

Tai nodded. "Thanks."

"Evacuation in process, sir," Tally said.

""""""""""""""""""""

Mrs. Matsuki was pacing the floor. "Where is he?"

Her husband looked up from where he was reading the newspaper,"I'm sure he's fine. Takato's very responsible."

"I know he is," Mrs Matsuki said, staring out the window,"But..."

"He's not a baby anymore."

"He's my baby!"

There was knock on the door. "Takato!" his mother shouted, running to the door. She flung it open, but her smile quickly faded when she saw two soldiers standing on the other side.

"Mrs. Matsuki?" one of the soldiers asked.

Her husband joined her a second later. "Is there a problem officer?" he asked.

"We are evacuating this city block due to a digimon attack.."

"Digimon?" Mrs. Matsuki gasped,"You mean, like that thing twenty years ago?"

"Myotismon, ma'am," the soldier clarrified,"For safety reasons, we are evacuating this city block."

"But, my son hasn't come back home yet!" she protested.

"Ma'am, we're going to have to ask you to leave."

"But my son...!"

"We will be posted around the city block. Anyone we see will be evacuated. Your son will be safe, he won't be in the mosnter's path."

"But..!"

Mr. Matsuki grabbed his wife's shoulders. "Honey, we have to leave. come on. Takato will be fine."

She sighed, defeated. "I hope so."

"Leave?" Mrs. Wong gasped, as she held her five-year-old daughter close to her,"But, we can't!"

"Ma'am, Shinjuku is straight in the monster's path, you have to leave," the soldier said.

"My husband and son are still out there!" she shouted.

"When we find them, we'll bring them to a safe location, please."

Mrs. Wong sighed. "Come on, Suzie, grab your things."

"Where are we going, Mommy?" the small girl asked.

"We're going to go on a small trip, okay? Get some clothes and whatever toys you want to bring, okay?"

The small girl knew something was wrong, but decided not to argue. She ran into her room. Mrs. Wong turned to the soldiers. "We'll be a ready in a few minutes."

He bowed slightly.

"""""""""""""""

"Rumiko!" the elderly woman called as she ran through the house,"Rumiko, are you ready yet?"

The supermodel emerged from her room a second later with a large bag of clothes. "Let's go, Mom."

The two woman ran over to the front door, where a group of soldiers were waiting. "We're ready," Rumiko said.

The commanding soldier bowed and lead the two women to a large bus. They piled on and sat in a seat in front of the Matsukis and across from Mrs. Wong and Suzie. The young girl turned at glanced at Rumiko, then back at her mother.

"You have a very pretty daughter," Rumiko said.

Mrs. Wong smiled,"Thank you."

The supermodel. "I wish I knew where my daughter was."

Mrs. Wong chuckled slightly,"My son and husband are both out there."

Mrs. Matsuki sighed slightly. "My son's out there, and I have no idea where."

"I'm sure you're children will be fine," Rumiko's mother said,"The soldiers are everywhere, they'll find them and keep them safe."

"I hope so," Mrs. Matsuki replied.

"""""""""""""""""""""

"Guardian Barrage!" Guardromon shouted, firing his missiles at the pig deva. Surprisingly, Vikalaramon turned around and glared at the group of digimon and Tamers. "I think you may have pissed him off," Veedramon whispered.

Vikalaramon growled. "You have been irritating me since I first arrived here! I mean, every attack has felt like a bug bite, but after so long it starts to become unbearable! You will be destroyed!"

He began to charge towards the group of digimon. "I think this is it!" Gargomon shouted, holding up his gun arms.

All of the digimon braced for impact, Vikalarmon's eyes were suddenly hit by two large balls of fire. The pig's eyes instantly turned red and he quickly swung from side to side to remove the pain. As he did, he smashed into two more buildings, totally demolishing them.

The group spun around and gasped at the large red dinosaur that was standing before them. "Growlmon?" Kasumi gasped,"Then that means!" Her eyes wandered to the goggle headed boy that was walking out from behind him.

"Takato!" everyone shouted.

"Takato!" Jeri exclaimed. She flung Calumon into Kenta's arms and ran over to him. She hugged him tightly,"Takato, I thought you were gone for good."

He smiled slightly at her,"I almost was."

Kenta and Calumon ran over to join her. "Takato!" Calumon grinned,"You're back!"

"Hey Goggle Head!" Rika shouted,"I'm glad you're alive and all, but the pig is back!"

Takato broke out of Jeri's embrace and ran over to join the others. "None of our digimon's attacks aren't having any effect," Jenrya said.

"They need to get stronger," Takato said.

"We don't have any blue cards!" Rika shouted.

"No, you're wrong, we've had them this entire time."

"What are you talking about?"

Takato reached into his pocket and pulled out a digi-modify card. "These are the blue cards."

Jenrya stared at him,"Takato, if you've got a plan..."

"The blue cards appeared when we needed them the most. _We_ make them appear, they come from deep within _us! _If we believe, then it will come true!"

Jenrya and Rika glanced at each. "Well, it's worth a try." They each grabbed a card and, holding it between their fore fingers, held it close to their faces.

"I believe," Jenrya said,"I want to protect those that I care about."

Rika thought of her mother. "She really does care about me."

Takato closed his eyes tightly."I want to save the entire city!"

Each of their cards suddenly turned a bright blue. "We did it!" Jenrya gasped.

"Of course we did," Takato snapped,"We have the power within ourselves!" To the others, it looked like he was facing Vikalaramon, but he was secretly looking at Calumon's head. The triangle shaped mark on the small digimon's head was glowing slightly., "Now, let's roast this pig!"

"Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"

"Growlmon matrix digivolve to Wargrowlmon!"

"Kyuubimon digivolve to Taomon!"

"Gargomon digivolve to Rapidmon!"

Takato grinned as he stared at the pig deva. "Now, let's finish this!"

Wargrowlmon leapt forward and grabbed hold of Vikalaramon's horns, which stopped the evil pig in his tracks. Taomon leapt to one side of the pig and Rapidmon leapt to the other. The fox quickly used her paintbrush to draw a Japanese character in the sky, while Rapidmon fired two missiles from his hands.

"Tailismon of Light!"

"Rapid Fire!"

Taomon's symbol shot into Vikalamon on one side and Rapidmon's missile impacted on the other side. Wargrowlmon finished the three sided attack but slamming his foot into the Deva's chin. All three digimon attacked together with their fists on the pig's nose. They jumped back.

"Had enough?" Rapidmon asked.

"Hardly!" Vikalaramon squealed.

On the sidelines, Kasumi, Kazu, their digimon, Jeri, Kenta and Calumon were watching the battle intently. "Who do you think's gonna win?" Kenta asked.

"They will!" the other shouted at the same time.

"I'm all for group spirit and everything, but did you notice how big that thing is?"

"It doesn't matter!" Jeri said,"Takato will win!"

Kenta was going to reply, when he heard a scream from behind. He turned around and saw a blond haired girl running towards them. Behind her was a human-sized monkey riding atop a thirty foot dragon. He judged that by the way the girl was screaming, the monkey and the dragon were chasing her.

"Guys!" he shouted,"You've got to see this."

The others turned around. "Wow!" Kazu gasped.

"Who's that?" Kasumi asked, pointing to the girl. She then pointed to the monkey and the dragon. "And who's that?" She held up her D-Arc,"Makuramon, and Migiramon, both Exalted Beast Digimon, they're Devas!"

The blond haired girl stopped in front of the group and started panting. She stared at Kasumi and Kazu. "You two are Tamers, right?"

Kasumi placed her arms around her shoulder. "That's right. Who are you? Why are they after you?"

"I am...I am Alice McCoy."

"Alice McCoy!" Kazu gasped,"We finally found her."

The girl was not able to reply as the Makuramon and Migiamon floated above them. "You lead us on quite a little chase" Makuramon chuckled,"But now I have you. Hand over that journal, and I will spare your life."

Kazu jumped forward. "If you want her, you'll have to go through us."

A voice shouted from above them. "I hope that includes me!"

"Orion!" Kasumi gasped,"But, who's that with you?"

"It's Cyberdramon," Veedramon said.

"He's my partner."

"But why would a digital hunter have a digimon partner?"

"That's a story for another time," he said, landing next to the humans. He turned to Kazu and Kenta,"I'm ready to help."

Kazu was about to protest, but Kasumi cut him off. "We're happy to have you."

Makuramon laughed. "All right. If that's the way you want it, Migiramon and I will be more then happy to oblige you!" He leapt off of the dragon and zoomed for Alice, but Cyberdramon used his fist and sent him flying into a building. Migiramon went to slash one of his claws, but Guardromon fired his missiles, causing him to flinch backwards.

While Kasumi and Kazu watched their digimon in battle, Alice was left in the capable hands of Jeri, Kenta and Calumon. "Don't worry," Jeri smiled, dressing the wound on Alice's left arm,"They'll get rid of those monsters."

"Yeah," Kenta said,"I mean, if I was with them, I could probably win this fight, but I'm sure they'll be fine without me."

"You're worse then Kazu," Calumon said, waddling over to Alice.

"Hey!"

There was a loud crash from behind them. They spun around and saw that Vikalaramon's snout was crushing Wargrowlmon into the pavement, while Taomon and Rapidmon were pounding at the pig's hide. They turned back to the other battle, Migiramon slashed across Guardromon's metal body, while Veedramon attempted to slam her horn into the dragon's underside. She was not successful. Makuramon was throwing silver balls as Orion and Cyberdramon. So far, they were able to dodge them, but their luck could not hold out forever.

_"Mr Kamiya,"_ Jeri thought,"_Where are you?"_

""""""""""""""""""

Dr. Wong ran inside of the Hypnos control room with Agumon, and Gatomon. "I had to show them the way," he explained and the two digimon ran over to Tai.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked,"What about Takato's body."

"It's not there," Agumon explained.

"What do you mean it's not there?" Yamaki twirled around,"Someone stole it? But how?"

"Maybe it walked away on its' own?"

"Gatomon!" Tai snapped.

"I'm serious!" the small cat shouted. She pointed up to the ceiling, where images of the battle going on outside were playing. "Look, that's Wargrowlmon!"

Tai gapsed,"And Takato's down there with them!"

Before anyone could say anything else, Hakkado charged into the room. "General Yamaki!" he shouted, pointing at Agumon and Gatomon,"What's the meaning of this?"

"It's okay," he said,"They're with the Master Digidestined."

Hakkado suddenly realized that Tai was in the room. He stared at him, a hundred different emotions trying for control of his face. "You're the Master Digidestined?"

He nodded."And you are?"

"He's a major player in the Hypnos command council," Yamaki explained,"and this is Dr. Wong, one of the original Monster Makers."

Tai gasped. "You..you're the ones that created Digimon!"

He smiled slightly,"You make me sound like some sort of god."

"Enough of this!" Hakkado shouted,"Have you seen Shinjuku? It looks like a war zone."

Yamaki glanced up at the image on the dome ceiling. Vikalaramon was fighting Wargrowlmon, Taomon and Rapidmon, while only a few feet away, Makuramon and Migiramon were battling against Veedramon, Guardromon, Orion and Cyberdramon. "That's precisely what this is, a war zone."

Dr. Wong watched with awe as the power the descendents of his creations could command. His eyes wander to the Tamers that were standing on the sidelines, specifically a black haired one in a red vest. "Jenrya!"

Tai gasped. "_Wong? Of course, he must be Jenrya's father!"_

"This is a dangerous game your son is playing," Yamaki said,"And I'm afraid that I cannot allow it any longer. Tally!"

"Yes sir."

"Prepare to engage Juggernaut."

"Sir!"

"Juggernaut?" Tai asked.

"Juggernaunt's real?" Wong gasped,"I mean, you completed it?"

Yamaki nodded. "Yes, I advanced upon the prototype you created."

"But..you can't use Juggernaunt!" he protested,"What about the digimon?"

"Excuse me!" Tai shouted,"What is Juggernaunt?"

"It is a device that the Monster Makers created in the event that digimon became so powerful that they found a means to enter this world," Yamaki said.

"What will it do."

"Basically, it will send the digimon back to the Digital World."

"If it doesn't kill them!" Wong shouted. "What about those Tamers, huh? They're protecting this city! I won't let you do it!" He ran at Yamaki, but the Hypnos commander flung him into the ground. Tai ran over and lifted him back on his feet.

Yamaki tightened his fist "Activate Juggernaunt now!"

Tai whispered to Wong. "Can that thing really kill all the digimon in the city?"

"It's a very good possibility."

"Gatomon, Agumon, we're leaving!" The Master Digidestined and his two partners ran out the door,"We've got to warn the others."

"""""""""""""""

Outside, the two large towers of the Hypnos building began to hum with life. A spark of electricity shot between the two, and a red disc appeared above them. The disc started to grow in diameter until it was a wide as the building itself. The Juggernaunt system had been activated, and heaven have mercy on all digimon within the city.

The fighters on the battlefield notice that the night sky had turned to a dark red. "What's going on here?" Rapidmon asked,"It looks like the sky is on fire."

"It was just night a minute ago," Taomon said,"Maybe some sort of cosmic event? Like a planetary alignment?"

"I don't remember reading anything about that," Jenrya said.

Across the street, Makuramon and the others halted their fight as well. "This certainly is a strange world," the monkey replied,"Wonderous as well."

Orion tapped his helmet. "Oh no!" he gasped,"They've activated Juggernaunt!"

"What's Juggernaunt?" Kazu asked.

"A device that will likely delete all the digimon here!"

Suddenly, all the digimon began to scream out in pain. Everyone one of them fell to the ground, all except for Makuramon and Migiramon. These two glanced at themselves, then the monkey grinned. "Well, Migiramon, luckily for us we took preparations for an event like this."

"What did you do?"Kasumi asked, kneeling next to Veedramon.

"We infected ourselves with a defense system. We cannot be deleted by a device such as that." He walked over to where Alice was sitting on the ground with the journal tightly held between her two arms. She swallowed hard.

"I'm not g-g-gonna g-give you t-this," she stuttered, slowly standing up.

"Ha!" he laughed. With simple ease he swiped it from her hands.

"Hey!" Kazu shouted. He leapt towards him, but Makuramon skidded backwards. Orion charged with his sword, but Makuramon jumped into the air and back on Migiramon's back.

"As pitiful as it sounds, you humans did create us. It seems so embarrassing that we were created by such a weak and disgusting race."

His message was beamed all across Tokyo, even inside of the Hypnos control room. "..and we are now ready to crush you humans once and for all..."

Yamaki growled. "Shut him off!" he ordered.

"We're trying sir!" Riley replied.

Back on the battle field, Makuramon produced a silver ball in his hand. "I have the journal, now all Zhuqiaomon needs is the Catalyst! We will take our leave of you now, but Vikalramon, stay and finish the job." Migiramon shot nearer to the Hypnos building, and Makuramon flung his silver ball between the two towers. There was a spark of lightning, and Juggernaunt shorted out.

Back on the ground, Vikalramon stood back up. "I'm back, human filth!" he cheered.

"But so are we!" Wargrowlmon said. He turned to Taomon and Rapidmon,"We've got to finish this, now! If we all work together, we can beat him!"

"How?" Rapidmon asked.

"All our attacks just bounce off, we need to hit him inside!"

"We're stronger now," Taomon said,"Maybe my Thousand Spells can slice him open."

"Go for it," Wargrowlmon nodded.

They broke their huddle apart, and Taomon floated into the air. She held her long robed arms at Vikalramon, and they each shot out five hundred Japanese symbols. "Thousand Spells!" Most of the symbols were ineffective, but a few were able to tear through the pig's thick skin. "Wargrowlmon!"

"I'm on it!" the dinosaur shouted. He shot to the cut in the Deva's hide and used his strength to pull it apart. "Now Rapidmon!"

Jenrya's digimon pointed his gun arms into the cut that Wargrowlmon was holding open,"Rapid Fire!"

The two missiles tore through the sensitive organs inside, and Takato's digimon pulled the skin closed again. He shot over to where Takato, Rika and Jenrya were standing. "Let's get out of here!" He quickly picked them up and brought them to the sky. Taomon landed next to the other group of Tamers and Digimon and erected a magical shield around them. Everyone watched as Vikalaramon suddenly exploded from the inside out. His data was scattered across the city before disappearing.

"We did it!" Takato shouted,"Yes!"

Once the explosion died down, the group heard loud sirens heading towards them. "Time to leave!" Rika said.

The digimon and Tamers vanished long before the first police car arrived.

They arrived at Guillmon's hide out and were surprised to find Tai and his two partners were waiting there for them. "Daddy!" Kasumi shouted, hugging him,"You're okay! I was so worried about you!"

He smiled slightly. "I was worried about you too." He glanced over to where Takato was standing. "I'm glad to see that you're okay. We thought we lost you."

Takato shrugged slightly. "For a little while, I think you did."

"How did you come back?" he asked.

"I...I'm not sure, I...I just remember fighting Zhuqiaomon, then..waking up in the Hypnos building."

"Well, we'll discuss that later." He faced the Tamers. "I'm very proud of all of you. You did very well against a powerful opponent." He smiled,"I'm very proud of all out you."

The room was silent for a few minutes before Kasumi mentioned to the blond girl in the back. "Dad, this is Alice McCoy."

"So, you're Alice McCoy," he grinned,"You lead me on quite a chase around the city."

She smiled slightly,"If I knew that there was a good person searching for me, I would have tried to find you as well."

"Now, maybe you can shed some light on to what is going on around here?"

Kazu frowned. "Mr. Kamiya, um, the journal was taken."

"What?"

Alice smiled. "Don't worry. They took the journal, but I made a backup."

"Back up?"

She nodded. "It hidden back at my apartment, come on."

She lead them across the city and into her apartment. They sat in the living room as Alice emerged from her room with a thick stack of papers. "You copied the entire journal?" Jenrya gasped.

Alice shrugged slightly. "I thought it might be a good idea."

"Do you have any idea why they were after the journal?" Tai asked.

Alice nodded. "I think so. This journal was written by my grandfather. He called himself 'Dolphin' of the Monster Makers. He apparently found his way into the Digital World at some point, where he claimed he traveled all the way to the highest plane, the Land of the Digimon Sovereigns. There he encountered something that something that..well, I'll read that part to you."

She started to scan the papers in front of her until she found the section she was searching for."Here we go...'One day during my travels, I encountered a shrine hidden deep within the mountains. I learned from the natives that there was a powerful destroyer trapped inside, sealed by three doors each with its own lock. I was surprised to find that there was another human here. When I asked, he told me he was the Master Digidestined of Tokyo."

She stopped reading and everyone stared at Tai. He held his hands up and shook his head. "Not me, he must be talking about the other one."

Alice continued reading. "'I soon learned that this Master Digidestined was searching for the keys to unlock this door. He told me that the first lock required electrical energies from five humans, while the second door may unlock with a device that the Sovereigns call, 'Catalyst.' I have yet to determine the necessary key to unlock the final door."

She looked up. "I think he did, and wrote it down later, which is why they wanted the journal." The others nodded and she continued,"However, I had yet to determine what powerful being was sealed behind those three doors. When I did discover who it was, I was truly horrified. This powerful world destroyer, was a program that I and my fellow Monster Makers created to ensure that artificial intelligence, that these digimon, would not exceed their programmed parameters. If the tales are true, then our program somehow gained sentience, worse, became evil. If that is the case, long may it rest behind those three doors. However, I fear that if this Digidestined Lord is searching for the means to free it, the Digital World, and Earth, will tremble at its power. We called it ADR, but you will know it as D-Reaper."

Alice stopped reading, and the room was silent. "D-Reaper," Jeri said, shivering,"The name alone is enough to scare me."

"Don't worry," Takato said,"We'll stop it."

Tai nodded. "Alice, see if you can find what the key for the third lock is, or any mention where the D-Reaper is sealed. We've got to find out who this Dark Master Digidestined is, before it's too late."

Alice nodded. "Wait, you previously refereed to yourselves as defenders of the city, correct?"

Rika nodded."So?"

"I think you might need a new title. As it was written in ancient times, only a sage or priest could anoint warriors." She smiled slightly,"Seeing as how I have the journal, as well as all of my grandfather's equipment, I guess that role falls to me. So, you are Guardians no longer, you are now, Warriors!"

to be continued...


	10. Warriors: Chapter 1

Previously...

_Alice ran into her grandfather's office and started to search through his desk drawers Aside from papers and notebooks, there was not anything that could be called a journal She moved into her grandfather's bedroom and tore the place apart, still no journal_

_She searched the entire apartment from her bedroom to even the bathroom, but she could not find any trace of a journal She plopped down on the couch and ran a hand through her hair "Maybe there is no journal Yeah, I know Grandpa use to talk about visiting another world, but" She trailed off as her head hit the back of the couch "It there's no journal, then why are they after me?"_

_She rolled her head slightly, then spied the picture of her grandfather and her which was hanging over the mantle piece It use to hang in her grandfather's room, but he left it do her after his death, with the message to cherish it forever Could it be_

_She ran over to the picture and lifted it off the wall She ran her fingers around the edge of the back and unattached the back cover When she pulled the back cardboard out, her heart skipped a beat Hidden between the painting itself and the back cover was a rectangular book She quickly started flipping through it She found the journal_

_Takato's body suddenly sat straight up, panting heavily He glanced around quickly "Wwhere am I? Waitwhowho am I? I I don't know who I am!" He almost broke into a panic, but was too groggy and woozy to really care All he knew was that he had to get out of that cold metal room He spied his clothes lying on a chair to the side He quickly got dressed, then stumbled out of the room There was not anyone in the halls, and the lights were all out He easily slid out through a side door_

_"Takato's body Give it back now!" He pointed his finger at the Hypnos commander,"This is grave robbing!"_

_"He is currently being used in the further study of the digital frontier"_

_Tai took a deep breath, then steped forward,"Gatomon, Agumon, stay back, I will handle this"_

_Yamaki chuckled "Just to warn you, I have become much more thennormal" He smashed his hand into the wall, which easily shattered under his new cybernetic strength_

_Tai reached inside of his long trench coat and pulled out a long metal tube The sides swung up to the top to form what appeared to Yamaki to be a sword hilt His hypothesis was proven to be correct when a long metal blade shot out, forming a perfect sword Once he did, a glowing aura formed around him Tai grinned "I've become more thennormalas well"_

_The group stared up at the sky, and suddenly a thick smoke began to appear in front of them A massive amount of smoke, larger and taller then most buildings When the smoke cleared, a massive pig stood in its place_

_The Tamers were gasping, trying to find their voices as they stared at the gigantic creature in front of them Jenrya finally was able to hold his D-Arc up to the digimon "Vikalaramon, Deva beast digimon"_

_The pig Deva twisted around and started to march down the first street As Vikalaramon was wider then the entire length of the street, and so tore through the sides of the outer edges of the buildings The traffic lights did not stand a chance and were easily destroyed "Oh no!" Kazu gasped_

_"Guys!" Jeri shouted,"You've got to stop him!"_

_The group spun around and gasped at the large red dinosaur that was standing before them "Growlmon?" Kasumi gasped,"Then that means!" Her eyes wandered to the goggle headed boy that was walking out from behind him_

_"Takato!" everyone shouted_

_"Takato!" Jeri exclaimed She flung Calumon into Kenta's arms and ran over to him She hugged him tightly,"Takato, I thought you were gone for good"_

_He smiled slightly at her,"I almost was"_

_"Of course we did," Takato snapped,"We have the power within ourselves!" To the others, it looked like he was facing Vikalaramon, but he was secretly looking at Calumon's head The triangle shaped mark on the small digimon's head was glowing slightly "Now, let's roast this pig!"_

_"Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution activate!"_

_"Growlmon matrix digivolve to Wargrowlmon!"_

_"Kyuubimon digivolve to Taomon!"_

_"Gargomon digivolve to Rapidmon!"_

_Takato grinned as he stared at the pig deva "Now, let's finish this!"_

_"We infected ourselves with a defense system We cannot be deleted by a device such as that" He walked over to where Alice was sitting on the ground with the journal tightly held between her two arms She swallowed hard_

_"I'm not g-g-gonna g-give you t-this," she stuttered, slowly standing up_

_"Ha!" he laughed With simple ease he swiped it from her hands_

_"Hey!" Kazu shouted He leapt towards him, but Makuramon skidded backwards Orion charged with his sword, but Makuramon jumped into the air and back on Migiramon's back_

_"As pitiful as it sounds, you humans did create us It seems so embarrassing that we were created by such a weak and disgusting race"_

_Back on the battle field, Makuramon produced a silver ball in his hand "I have the journal, now all Zhuqiaomon needs is the Catalyst! We will take our leave of you now, but Vikalramon, stay and finish the job" Migiramon shot nearer to the Hypnos building, and Makuramon flung his silver ball between the two towers There was a spark of lightning, and Juggernaunt shorted out_

_The two missiles tore through the sensitive organs inside, and Takato's digimon pulled the skin closed again He shot over to where Takato, Rika and Jenrya were standing "Let's get out of here!" He quickly picked them up and brought them to the sky Taomon landed next to the other group of Tamers and Digimon and erected a magical shield around them Everyone watched as Vikalaramon suddenly exploded from the inside out His data was scattered across the city before disappearing_

_Alice continued reading "'I soon learned that this Master Digidestined was searching for the keys to unlock this door He told me that the first lock required electrical energies from five humans, while the second door may unlock with a device that the Sovereigns call, 'Catalyst' I have yet to determine the necessary key to unlock the final door"_

_She looked up "I think he did, and wrote it down later, which is why they wanted the journal" The others nodded and she continued,"However, I had yet to determine what powerful being was sealed behind those three doors When I did discover who it was, I was truly horrified This powerful world destroyer, was a program that I and my fellow Monster Makers created to ensure that artificial intelligence, that these digimon, would not exceed their programmed parameters If the tales are true, then our program somehow gained sentience, worse, became evil If that is the case, long may it rest behind those three doors However, I fear that if this Digidestined Lord is searching for the means to free it, the Digital World, and Earth, will tremble at its power We called it ADR, but you will know it as D-Reaper"_

_"I think you might need a new title As it was written in ancient times, only a sage or priest could anoint warriors" She smiled slightly,"Seeing as how I have the journal, as well as all of my grandfather's equipment, I guess that role falls to me So, you are Guardians no longer, you are now, Warriors!"_

**December 19, 2015**

**Warriors:**

**Chapter 1**

The Tamers spent the night at the Kamiya's apartment. After their experience battling Vikalramon, they were all exhausted. Tai promised to vouch for all of their stories, and would take full responsibility for any problems that would likely occur.

The Master Digidestined of Tokyo walked out of his room and peeked into Kasumi's room. Jeri, Kasumi, Rika, Snow Agumon and Renamon were sleeping peacefully inside. He could not help smile slightly as he noticed how happy Rika looked when she was sleeping.

He continued down the hall and passed the guest room where the boys were sleeping. Well, almost all of the boys. He slowly walked into the living room and found the missing male Tamer sitting in one of the armchairs. "Takato?"

He twirled around. "Oh, Mr. Kamiya, you scared me."

Tai sat across from him in the couch. "Couldn't sleep?"

He shook his head,"No. So much has happened, I...I don't what's going on with me. I should have died, why am I still here?"

Tai sighed. "I wish I had some answers to give you, but I don't. All I can suggest is to focus on the people that matter the most to you." He smiled slightly,"Like Jeri."

The teenage boy gasped at him, his face turning red. "W..w..what are you talking about..?"

"Come on," he said,"I've seen how you look at her, you're head over heels for her, aren't you?"

Takato was about to protest, but just nodded. "Yeah."

Tai chuckled. "I realize I'm probably the last person to be preaching about relationships, but you should tell her before she moves on."

Takato looked at him with a curious glance. "What do you mean?"

Tai was silent for a few minutes, like he was debating to tell him, when he sighed. "I first entered the Digital World with the other Digidestined about twenty years ago. During my travels, I found myself falling in love with a girl named Sora Takenouchi. During the time we were fighting Malomyotismon, Sora and I were moving closer and closer together. We never wanted to confront our feelings, but they kept growing stronger. One night we...went too far, if you get what I'm saying."

Takato just nodded. "I'm pretty sure."

"Anyway, we rushed in too quickly, our relationship quickly became a physical one. During a Christmas concert, she told me that she was in love with another Digidestined, Yamato Ishida. When Matt was chosen to be the Master Digidestined of Los Angeles, Sora went with him. When I said goodbye to her, I had no idea she was already a month pregnant."

"I get it!" Takato said,"That's why Kasumi lives in America, she lives with her mother."

Tai nodded. "And step-father."

"Oh, you mean, Sora and..Matt married?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, don't make the same mistake that I did. If you really love Jeri, tell her, before it's too late."

Takato nodded, then yawned. Tai chuckled. "I think it's time you got to sleep. We still have school tomorrow."

The Tamer frowned. "I guess that's the problem with having your digimon teacher be your real teacher."

"Yeah," Tai chuckled,"Now get to bed."

"""""""""""""""""""""

The next morning, Yamaki stood atop the Hypnos building roof, surveying the damaged section of West Shinjuku. "That Hawaiian Pig roast sure caused a lot of damage."

Hakkado stood beside him and nodded. "Yes, to think that one being could have done all of that. But what about the Master Digidestined?"

"What about him?"

"You had him, why did you let him escape?"

Yamaki growled. "Why did _I_ let him escape? He left on his own! Besides, I am no longer interested in capturing them. They are here to save this world, not destroy it."

"But..."

He turned to him. "It appears to me that you have some sort of past history with the digimon."

"I..no more then you."

Yamaki frowned, then turned away from him. "We've got to discover what exactly is going on around here. Who is this Dark Master Digidestined, is he working with this..this Sovereign? Or do we have two forces working against us? There is also this fifth death that I'm worried about. What is going to happen then?"

Hakkado sighed. "I don't think we want to know."

""""""""""""""""""""""

"Rika!" Rumiko shrieked, wrapping her arms around her daughter. She felt her knees give out, and she fell to the ground. "Rika," she sobbed,"I was so worried about you."

Rika was stunned into silence. "M..Mom, I..really, I'm okay, I...I just couldn't get back home after the army sealed out the city..."

Rumiko pulled Rika away from her and the teenager saw that her mother's face was red with tears. "I was so worried, don't you ever, _ever_ not call me again! Okay?"

Rika nodded, surprised that her eyes were moist too. "I..I won't."

She nodded, then stood up, drying her eyes. "Well, I think you'd better get ready for school."

Rika nodded. "Yeah, sure." She watched her mother walk into her room. "I'm sorry, Mom," she said softly.

"""""""""""""

"Takato!" Mrs. Matsuki shouted, squeezing her son tightly,"Where were you?"

"I was at Mr. Kamiya's apartment.."

"What? What were you doing there?"

Takato broke out of her mother's embrace and recited the alibi the group created. "When that giant pig attacked, I knew I couldn't get home, and Mr. Kamiya's apartment was right there, so I figured it would be a good idea. I..I just feel asleep before I could call you."

Mrs. Matsuki nodded, apparently buying that story. "Alright." She dragged him into the bakery kitchen and trusted him into one of the chairs. "I made breakfast for you. Eat up, and you still have enough time to make it to school."

Takato sighed. "If I knew I was going to have to go, I would've stayed dead."

"What?" his mother snapped.

"Nothing!"

"""""""""""""""

Jenrya ran out of his room and he pulled on a pair of clean clothes. "Jenrya!" his mother called from the kitchen,"Are you hungry?"

The teenager's stomach growled at the thought of food. He dove into the kitchen and sat in his chair. His mother placed a plate of food in front of him. "My, you certainly are hungry, aren't you?"

He just bowed. "Thank you." He started to eat, when he noticed that his father was sitting across from him, reading the paper. He waited until his mother was out of the room before he spoke. "Dad, I have a question I want to ask you."

His father folded the paper and stared him straight in the eyes. "And I have a question for you too."

"Oh, really? Well, um, why don't you go first?"

His father nodded. "Okay, well, it's more of a request, actually."

"What is it?"

"May I see Terriermon?"

Jenrya almost choked on his eggs. "Can you what?"

"I would like to see Terriermon."

"How...how do you know about Terriermon?"

His father sighed,"I'm sure by now you've realized that there is a government agency after you and the other Tamers."

Jenrya just nodded.

"I was there last night, inside of Hypnos. I watched you battle Vikalramon."

"You were there!"

"Shh, keep it down. I don't want your mother to know just yet. I was helping them because Alice is the granddaughter of one of my fellow Monster Makers, or was, until he passed away. So, yes, I know all about you being a Tamer."

"Oh, wow Dad, I...I don't know what to say."

His father smiled slightly. "How about you tell me what your question was?"

"Uh, oh right. Um, well, since you know about everything, I'll be totally truthful. Last night, Alice read from her grandfather's journal. He mentioned something in the Digital World that we think the Dark Master Digidestined is after, something called, D-Reaper.."

"D-Reaper?" he gasped,"Wow, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time."

"What is it?"

"It's a computer program that we created in order to keep artificial life from evolving too fast. When our project was scrapped, D-Reaper was deleted."

Jenrya sighed. "But when the Digimon returned, D-Reaper must have been resurrected along with them. Dad, how powerful is it?"

"It shouldn't be powerful at all. It was designed to delete artificial life, but it wouldn't have stood a chance against the power your digimon have."

"Really? Hmm, something's not right here. If D-Reaper isn't that strong, why was it sealed away. More importantly, why is the Dark Master Digidestined after it?"

"""""""""""""""""

Takato had forgotten that his class's Christmas Party was today, so after he sat through the half-a-day of lectures, his mood changed once the party began. He was surprised to find that Mr. Kamiya had brought a wide variety of snacks and placed them on the back table, along with fruit punch and soda. On this day, they were allowed to mingle with the other class, so Jenrya came over and joined Takato, Jeri, and Kazu.

"Say, where's Kenta?" he asked, sipping his soda.

"He went to meet his father," Kazu said.

"His father?"

"Yeah, some big computer company owner or something. He's bringing in more food."

"More food?" Jeri asked,"How much can we possibly eat?"

Kazu grinned at her,"I hear he's bringing in a giant chocolate mouse cake."

Jeri's ears opened, as well as her eyes,"Chocolate?"

Kazu chuckled. "Then again, you are getting kind of chubby." He poked her lightly.

She flinched and batted his hand away. "Kazu!" she shrieked.

Takato suddenly slammed his fist into the desk. "Kazu, leave her alone!" he screamed. The talking instantly stopped and everyone stared at him. There was silence for a couple of minutes, then everyone slowly began talking again. His friends stared at him.

Takato suddenly looked pale. "K..Kazu, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell like that."

Jenrya stared at him. "You know, you've been flying off the handle a lot lately. Are you okay?"

"I...I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

"I'm sure dying didn't help, huh?" Jeri asked.

Takato smiled at her. "Yeah."

Kazu mentioned to the back corner of the classroom. Takato and Jenrya turned around and saw Mr. Kamiya talking to Miss Isage. "Would you look at those two?" Kazu said, disgusted.

"Stop it!" Jeri said,"I think it's cute."

"You would."

The brunette stood up. "I'm going to the restroom. I'll be back."

A few seconds after she left, another boy walked inside. "Who's that?" Takato asked.

"That's Marro Lambert," Jenrya sighed,"He transferred in a few days ago. He's in my class, what is he doing here?"

Kazu shrugged slightly. "Looks like he just wants some food.""

Takato noticed the tone in his friend's voice,"Is there a problem with him?"

Jenrya just shook his head,"Something about him..."

Kazu interrupted him by mentioning to the door. "Kenta's here."

Kenta and his father walked in, holding a large pastry box. Tai walked over to talk to him. He bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Like wise, Mr. Kamiya, where can I put this cake?"

Tai cleared a stop for him on the table. "Right here is good. Thanks for bringing this in."

"No problem!" Kenta grinned,"My Dad's the best."

Tai mentioned to one of the open desks. "Why don't you join us?" He turned slightly to look at where Miss Isage was leaning against one of the heating grates. He felt the other man's hand on his shoulder.

"I understand, thank you."

Tai walked back over to talk to Miss Isage and Kenta and his father were about to sit down, when Lambert walked over to them. "Kenta, is this your father?" he asked.

Kenta nodded,"Yeah, but.."

Lambert suddenly grabbed the knife off of the table, the one that was going to be used to cut the cake. He jabbed it into Kenta's side, then pushed him to the ground. Before anyone could react, he slashed the knife across the neck of Kenta's father. A glowing stream of blue light flowed up from the injured man and into Lambert's hand. Tai and the Tamers were wide eyed as they realized there was a D-Arc in the murderer's hand. After he had what he came for, he quickly charged out of the room.

Reality returned to the room shortly afterwards. The girl started screaming, and Tai and Jenrya ran over to the two fallen people. "Grab some towels, quick!"

Jenrya grabbed a bunch of paper towels from the table and piled them underneath Kenta's wound. Tai pulled off his dress shirt and wrapped it around the neck of Kenta's father. He was hopeful for Kenta, but feared it was too late for his father.

He pointed to Jenrya. "Don't leave here until the ambulance comes, got it?"

"Y..yeah, but.."

He ran over to Miss Isage, who was struggling to remain in control. "Call for an ambulance."

"W..w..where are you going?"

Tai's face was filled with anger. "After him." He charged out the door, and Miss Isage turned to the hysterical class.

"Does anyone have a cell phone?" She was abruptly answered when all of the children reached into their pockets and pulled the small devices out. She frowned slightly, then grabbed the nearest one.

""""""""""""""

Kazu ran over to help Jenrya. As the two boys desperately tried to stop the bleeding, the black haired boy noticed someone was missing. "Where's Takato?"

Tai charged up the stairs of the school until he was on the top floors. He knew that Lambert went this way, there were droplets of blood on the ground that created a perfect trail. No doubt splashed on him when he attacked Kenta and his father.

The Master Digidestined reached a wall near the bathrooms. Unfortunately, the blood trail moved up the wall and out the open window. Tai glanced out the opening and gasped. If Lambert had jumped, there was no way he would have made it. He was confused, until he remembered that Lambert had a D-Arc. He must have been one of the Dark Tamers. If he had his digimon meet him outside the window, then there was no doubt he escaped. He sighed, knowing that Lambert had escaped.

He heard the noise of a door opening. He shot around, his fists ready, stopped when he saw Jeri walking out of the girl's bathroom. "Mr. Kamiya!" she jumped.

"Jeri," he sighed,"Did you.."

Before he could finish, the far wall suddenly exploded apart. "Jeri, get down!" he shouted, shielding her with his body. The debris and projectiles flung towards them, but luckily, they escaped with only minor injuries. When Tai looked through the massive hole in the wall, there was an army helicopter hovering outside the building. A second later, a squad of soldiers jumped into the school. Tai was about to jump to his feet, when he realized that the squad was pointing each of their guns at him and Jeri.

"Do not make us use force," the commanding officer said.

Tai nodded slowly. "What about her?" he asked, mentioning to Jeri.

"She comes, then we'll decided what to do with her. On the helicopter, now!"

"Don't worry, Jeri," Tai whispered,"Just stay close to me."

The brunette nodded. "Y..yes sir."

""""""""""""""""""

Outside, Takato and Growlmon were racing down the sidewalk, searching for the murderer. "Well?" the goggle-headed Tamer asked.

Growlmon sniffed the air. "He went this way, all right."

Takato growled."He's gonna pay for this! He's going to pay!"

Growlmon lead Takato through a maze of buildings and alleys until he reached the destroyed section of Shinjuku. There they found the Dark Tamer, standing in the center of Vikalramon's destruction. There was a massive creature behind him. "So, you want to fight, huh? Do you have a problem with what I did?"

Takato jumped off of Growlmon and glared at Lambert. He was so filled with rage, that he was having trouble speaking. "You...you...murderer!" He screamed in extreme anger,"I'll never forgive you, never!"

Lambert crossed his arms, then mentioned to the creature behind him. "Marine Devimon here is ready, how about you?"

Takato was clenching his D-Arc so tightly, the construction of metal and circuitry threatened to smash. Wargrowlmon suddenly appeared behind him. "Fight them, Wargrowlmon, fight them!"

Takato's rage was starting to overwhelm him. "Digivolve!" he screamed,"Wargrowlmon, digivolve all the way to Mega!"

The bright winter sky turned black with storm clouds. Lightning began to crash around them. A group of bolts slammed into Wargrowlmon, and a whirlwind formed around him. It grew in intensity until it exploded, revealing a massive dragon, saliva dripping from his massive teeth.

Takato seemed unaware of his digimon's new appearance. He just kept screaming at Lambert. "Fight them! Fight them!"

The dragon shot forward and threw Marine Devimon to the ground. The evil squid attempted to wrap his tentacle around the dragon, but Takato's mega digimon batted it away with ease.

"""""""""""""""""""

Jenrya gasped. "What happened?"

Miss Isage sighed. "The army blew a hole in the school!"

"Where?"

"Right above us. And I..." she lowered her voice,"I don't know why I'm telling you this, but for some reason, I think you should know."

Jenrya nodded."Go on."

The older woman looked frazzled, like she was about to break down at any second. "I think they took Mr. Kamiya and Jeri."

Jenrya just nodded. He turned and watched as the paramedics wheeled Kenta and his father out into the ambulance. "The Army took Mr. Kamiya and Jeri, why would they...?" He gasped,"Of course!"

Miss Isage looked at him strangely. "What?"

He bowed to her. "Thank you. I've got to go." He ran out of the class room before she could call him back. He ran outside to where Kazu had gotten their two partners. "Kazu!"

"Are you ready yet? If we don't hurry, we're going to lose Lambert's trail."

"We can't worry about that now."

"What? You're kidding, right?"

"Listen," he panted,"I just heard from Miss Isage, that rumble we felt before?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, apparently the army blasted a hole in the wall."

"What? Why?"

"I think they took Mr. Kamiya and Jeri, which means it might be Hypnos."

Kazu gritted his teeth. "That's just like them to hit us while we're down. So, we try to get them out?"

Jenrya nodded. "That's the plan."

"I'm with you." Kazu turned to his partner,"What about you?"

Guardromon nodded. "If that is your desire, then I will follow."

"Hey Jenrya!" Terriermon called,"How come you never asked me that?"

"Because you don't have a choice, let's go."

As the group ran down the sidewalk, Kazu called out to Jenrya. "Hey, maybe we should stop by and pick up Mr. Kamiya's digimon. And Kasumi can give us a hand too."

"Wow," Jenrya smiled,"I'm impressed Kenta."

"Funny," he mumbled,"Real funny."

"""""""""""""""""""""

Takato screamed with rage as his new mega slammed his fist into Marine Devimon's face. The evil squid stumbled backwards, but the giant dragon grabbed his arm and threw him onto the ground. He placed his hands together and slammed Marine Devimon's back.

"Get up!" Lambert shouted,"Get up!"

His digimon growled "I'm trying."

The Dark Tamer stared at the screaming Takato. "What is wrong with him?" His gaze suddenly shot to Takato's growling mega. The dragon was about to crush the aqua digimon, but his eyes were suddenly hit by a powerful white beam. He roared in pain and stumbled backwards.

Lambert shot his gaze to the sky and saw a devil creature with an older teenager riding him. "What are you doing here, Mark?"

Lambert growled. "What does it look like, Barker?" he snapped.

Barker reached inside his jacket and pulled out a few small silver balls. "Come!" he shouted,"The Master awaits!" He flung the balls into the ground which exploded in a massive cloud of smoke. When it cleared, The Dark Tamers were gone.

"No!" Takato screamed,"No! I want revenge!"

His mega digimon began to thrash around in the street, destroying what buildings remained after Vikalaramon's rampage."I want revenge!"

"""""""""""""""""""""""""

Kyuubimon charged down the sidewalk while Rika, Impmon and the twins clung tightly to her digimon's back. "I'm not getting Guillmon's scent," the fox said.

"I know he's around here!" Rika shouted,"We've got to find him!"

"Are you sure?" Ai asked.

"He's here," she sighed,"Strange as it sounds, there has always been some sort of connection between us. He's here, and he's in some sort of trouble."

"Well, we'll find 'im," Impmon said,"And help, if we can."

Rika grinned to herself. "_That's right, Goggle-head, I'm not going to let you die I'm still looking forward to our rematch"_

Kyuubimon suddenly stopped.. "What is it?" the Digimon Queen asked.

"I've found him," she gasped.

The group found the goggle wearing Tamer in the center of the destroyed West Shinjuku, screaming at the top of his lungs. "What's wrong with him?" Mako asked.

Rika was in awe. "I don't know."

Ai suddenly gave a small yelp as she saw a massive red dragon creature thrashing about beside Takato. "What's that?"

Rika took out her D-Arc and pointed it at the dragon. It hummed for a second, then an image of the dragon appeared on the screen. "Megidramon, mega..._mega level?_" she gasped.

Impmon jumped off of Kyuubimon and pointed at the Meggidramon. "That thing's Guillmon's mega form?"

Kyuubimon shook her head,"No, this can't be right."

Megidramon shot his head to the sky and began to roar at the top of his lungs. The remaining buildings around him began to crack and shattered. "We've got to stop him!" Rika gasped,"He's going to destroy the whole city if this keeps up!" She turned to the twins. "I want you to try and calm Takato down. Kyuubimon and I will see what we can do about Megidramon."

The young boy and girl nodded, then ran over to the screaming teenager. "Takato!" Ai shouted,"Takato."

He kept screaming in anger,"Where is he? Where is Lambert!"

Mako tried to grab his flailing arms. "Takato, it's us! Don't you know who we are?"

Takato kept screaming. "Ai, what's wrong with him?" Mako gasped.

"We've got to calm him down," she responded.

"But how?"

Rika jumped off of Kyuubimon as the fox digimon charged into Megidramon. "Guillmon, I don't want to hurt you.." She was not even able to finish as the dragon flicked her with his tail. She went soaring through a pile of debris.

"Kyuubimon!" Rika gasped. She sighed with relief as her partner crawled out of the rubble.

"Okay," she panted,"Let's try that again."

"Be careful!" Rika shouted.

Kyuubimon started to charge again. "Dragon's Wheel!"

Megidramon shot a massive roar from his throat. Kyuubimon's energy attack twisted around and slammed into the fox digimon. She was thrown into a brick wall, which collapsed on top of her. Rika was dismayed to see Renamon crawl out. "Perfect."

Meggidramon glared down at the two girls. "I think we're in trouble," Rika gulped.

The dragon leaned forward, show casing its rows of massive teeth. He was about to attack, but he was suddenly thrown back by a massive bolt of force. Rika and her partner shot to the sky and saw Orion and Cyberdramon flying towards them. Cyberdramon began to attack Megidramon with a flurrying array of kicks and punches. Orion landed next to Rika. "Are you okay?"

She ignored him and shouted to Cyberdramon. "Don't kill him! That's Guillmon!"

"Guillmon?" Orion gasped,"What happened to him?"

"That's his mega form! If we can get him back to his Rookie, then he might be okay."

The Digital Hunter nodded. "All right." He shot back into the sky to join Cyberdramon."We've got to hit him hard, enough to shock him back to his Rookie form, but not enough to kill him, understand?"

Cyberdramon growled. "I understand, but I don't have to like it."

"Don't start! Now, let's go."

The two of them began their assault. Orion grabbed his metal sword, while Cyberdramon started to fire blasts of white energy at the dragon. The Digital Hunter swung around behind Meggidramon and slashed across his neck with his sword. The massive dragon growled in pain, then fell onto his back. He was covered with bright light, then shrunk back into Guillmon.

Almost instantly, Takato stopped his screaming and ranting. He blinked a few times, then started panting. He stared at the two children in front of him. "Ai, Mako? What are you two doing here?"

"Don't ya' remember what happened?" Impmon asked.

Takato suddenly gasped. "What...what did I do?"

"It looks like you have a few anger issues," Orion said, walking over to him.

"Guilllmon!" Takato shouted, running over to him,"Guillmon, are you okay?"

The dinosaur slowly sat up. "What happened? My head hurts."

"Oh, Guillmon, I'm so sorry."

The dinosaur shook his head,"What..what did I do?"

"Listen guys," Orion said,"I understand that something traumatic just happened, but if you don't come with me right now, the Master Digidestined and Jeri Katou are going to be killed!"

""""""""""""""""""""

Yamaki charged down the hall and into the room that housed the Hypnos core program. Hakkado was there, staring up at the massive mass of machinery. "Hakkado!" he screamed,"What is the meaning of this?"

He turned around slowly and grinned at him."The meaning of what?"

Yamaki formed a fist with his metal hand. "Abducting Kamiya!"

Hakkado chuckled. "He is still a threat to the safety of the city."

"I told you he was _not_ to be sought after! Where is he?"

Hakkado chuckled, and moved aside. Tai and Jeri's hands were tied together and they were bound to a large metal support beam. Yamaki sighed slightly. "Don't worry, Master Kamiya. I'll have you out." He took a step forward, but stopped when he saw that Hakkado had a long sword pressed up against Jeri's neck.

"One move, and she's dead."

Yamaki stopped in his tracks. Jeri was almost in tears, but Tai was not able to comfort her, as he was staring at Hakkado. "That sword...it looks...just like mine."

Hakkado grinned. "So?"

"My sword was given to me by Azulongmon. The only way you could have one is...it's you isn't it? The Dark Master Digidestined."

Hakkado bowed slightly. "At your service."

The door opened and Lambert and Barker walked in. "Master Hakkado," Barker bowed,"The Gate is almost prepared."

The Dark Master Digidestined grinned. "Excellent."

The suddenly opened again, and a girl wearing a blue jumper ran inside. "Dad, I..." Barker and Lambert quickly grabbed her.

"Miki?" Yamaki, Jeri and Tai gasped.

Hakkado growled. "Bring Yamaki's daughter over here."

"Your daughter?" Tai gasped,"You have a daughter?"

The Hypnos Commander stared at him. "I can ask you the same shocked question."

"Shut up!" Hakkado shouted. He turned to Barker,"Get the Gate ready as soon as possible."

"Gate?" Yamaki asked,"A Digital Gate? You're..going into the Digital World?"

"That's right, and when I return, this world is doomed!"

"""""""""""""""""""""

When Jenrya and Kazu arrived at Tai's apartment, they were surprised to find Calumon there. They were wary to bring the small digimon along, but Jenrya remembered what Takato had said about Calumon, to protect him. So, despite his own reservations about it, he brought Calumon and Alice with them. They were very good and did not complain about running quickly to reach the Hypnos building.

Alice ran a hand through her blond hair as she stared up at the building in front of her. "So, this is Hypnos, huh?"

Calumon hovered over to her arms. "It sure looks big, doesn't it?"

Kasumi gasped. "We've got to break into _there?"_

Jenrya nodded. "Yes."

"You've got ta' be kiddin' me!" she shouted,"That place is swarmin' with soldiers!"

Kazu stared at her,"Mr. Kamiya and Jeri are both inside of there. We've got to get them back."

She grumbled,"All right."

Agumon and Gatomon ran ahead of them."Let's go!"

The others were about to follow them, when they heard people shouting to them from behind. They spun around and saw Rika, Takato, Ai and Mako riding atop Kyuubimon, while Cyberdramon carried Guillmon and Impmon. Orion was flying beside his digimon partner.

"Where have you guys been?" Kazu asked.

Takato fidgeted slightly. "Well, I..it's all my fault."

"What is?" Alice asked.

Orion stepped in front of them. "We really don't have time right now. Kamiya and Miss Katou are trapped inside. We've got to get in there."

"How?" Takato asked.

"Through the front door."

""""""""""""""""""

Yamaki stood firmly in place as he eyed the blade which Hakkado had pressed against Jeri's neck. He turned his gaze over to where his daughter, Miki, had been tied up with Tai and Jeri. He glanced at the Master Digidestined, waiting for any kind of signal to start an attack, but he found none.

Barker and Lambert were busy working at one of the computer terminals inside of the core room. The older Dark Tamer turned to face the Dark Master Digidestined. "Sir, we are ready."

Hakkado grinned. "Excellent, open the gate to my destiny!"

Barker pressed a button on the keyboard, and a glowing circle slowly appeared in the center of the machinery. Everyone was staring at it in awe. "That's a gate?" Tai gasped,"But, why?"

Hakkado smiled at him. "As you already know, only a D-3 can open a Digital Gate, and seeing as how I am not in possession of any, it was necessary to force a Gate open." He pressed the sword firmly against Jeri's neck,"And if you don't come quickly, I am going to kill her."

Jeri was in tears. "P..Please Mr. Kamiya..."

"Don't!" Tai shouted,"No, I'll come, just..don't hurt her."

Hakkado chuckled. "So, you do have a weakness."

"Sir," Lambert bowed, "We'd better hurry, the other Tamers are on their way."

Before anyone could say anything, the door was blown open as Takato and the other Tamers jumped inside. The force of the explosion caused Hakkado to stumble backwards and he moved his sword away from Jeri's neck. Yamaki did not wait another second. He tackled the Dark Master Digidestined to the ground.

While Jenrya and Kazu kept Lambert and Barker busy, Takato ran over to untie everyone. When she was free, Jeri wrapped her arms around the goggle wearing Tamer. "Takato! You came for me!"

He grinned. "Of course I did." He was about to say more, when Yamaki was suddenly flung above his head. Everyone saw Hakkado charge towards them with his sword glowing. Before anyone could stop him, he once again grabbed Jeri.

"Don't anyone move!" he shouted. Everyone was still as he slowly walked over to the glowing Digital Gate. "If you don't want her to die, Kamiya, I suggest you come with me." He turned to his two Dark Tamers. "Do it."

Barker pressed another button, and the glowing gate shot a beam of light that encompassed everyone except for Yamaki, who was too far away. He knew that the others were about to be pulled in, so he quickly grabbed a device from his pocket and flung it at the nearest Tamer. "Matsuki!" he shouted,"That's a Com device. Use it to keep in touch!" The Hypnos commander wanted a response, but he received none as the two Master Digidestineds, the Tamers, the digimon, Jeri and Alice were pulled through.

"Good luck," he sighed.

As the group was pulled through the glowing atmosphere of the Digital Gate, Takato managed to swim up to the twirling Hakkado and Jeri. He kicked the Dark Master Digidestined and freed Jeri. As he did, the glowing world started to flicker and crackle with energy.

"The Gate is falling!" Barker shouted,"It wasn't powerful enough."

"Stay close to me!" Hakkado ordered. His two Tamers swam over to him. The Dark side would remain together, but Tai's group was far too large.

As the Gate started to fall apart around them, the Master Digidestined shouted to his group. "Try to stay with each other!" he screamed.

Alice took a deep breath, and screamed. "Head to the Land of the Sovereigns! That's where the D-Reaper is sealed! The Dark Tamers will go there!"

"Do it!" Tai shouted. The glowing Digital Gate fell apart, and the Light Tamers were flung over the Digital World.

to be continued...


	11. Warriors: Chapter 2

Previously...

_Tai sighed "I wish I had some answers to give you, but I don't All I can suggest is to focus on the people that matter the most to you" He smiled slightly,"Like Jeri"_

_The teenage boy gasped at him, his face turning red "Wwwhat are you talking about?"_

_"Come on," he said,"I've seen how you look at her, you're head over heels for her, aren't you?"_

_Takato was about to protest, but just nodded "Yeah"_

_Tai chuckled "I realize I'm probably the last person to be preaching about relationships, but you should tell her before she moves on"_

_Takato looked at him with a curious glance "What do you mean?"_

_Tai was silent for a few minutes, like he was debating to tell him, when he sighed "I first entered the Digital World with the other Digidestined about twenty years ago During my travels, I found myself falling in love with a girl named Sora Takenouchi During the time we were fighting Malomyotismon, Sora and I were moving closer and closer together We never wanted to confront our feelings, but they kept growing stronger One night wewent too far, if you get what I'm saying"_

_Takato just nodded "I'm pretty sure"_

_"Anyway, we rushed in too quickly, our relationship quickly became a physical one During a Christmas concert, she told me that she was in love with another Digidestined, Yamato Ishida When Matt was chosen to be the Master Digidestined of Los Angeles, Sora went with him When I said goodbye to her, I had no idea she was already a month pregnant"_

_"Uh, oh right Um, well, since you know about everything, I'll be totally truthful Last night, Alice read from her grandfather's journal He mentioned something in the Digital World that we think the Dark Master Digidestined is after, something called, D-Reaper"_

_"D-Reaper?" he gasped,"Wow, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time"_

_"What is it?"_

_"It's a computer program that we created in order to keep artificial life from evolving too fast When our project was scrapped, D-Reaper was deleted"_

_Jenrya sighed "But when the Digimon returned, D-Reaper must have been resurrected along with them Dad, how powerful is it?"_

_"It shouldn't be powerful at all It was designed to delete artificial life, but it wouldn't have stood a chance against the power your digimon have"_

_"Really? Hmm, something's not right here If D-Reaper isn't that strong, why was it sealed away More importantly, why is the Dark Master Digidestined after it?" _

_Lambert suddenly grabbed the knife off of the table, the one that was going to be used to cut the cake He jabbed it into Kenta's side, then pushed him to the ground Before anyone could react, he slashed the knife across the neck of Kenta's father A glowing stream of blue light flowed up from the injured man and into Lambert's hand Tai and the Tamers were wide eyed as they realized there was a D-Arc in the murderer's hand After he had what he came for, he quickly charged out of the room_

_Before he could finish, the far wall suddenly exploded apart "Jeri, get down!" he shouted, shielding her with his body The debris and projectiles flung towards them, but luckily, they escaped with only minor injuries When Tai looked through the massive hole in the wall, there was an army helicopter hovering outside the building A second later, a squad of soldiers jumped into the school Tai was about to jump to his feet, when he realized that the squad was pointing each of their guns at him and Jeri_

_"Do not make us use force," the commanding officer said_

_Tai nodded slowly "What about her?" he asked, mentioning to Jeri_

_"She comes, then we'll decided what to do with her On the helicopter, now!"_

_Takato was clenching his D-Arc so tightly, the construction of metal and circuitry threatened to smash Wargrowlmon suddenly appeared behind him "Fight them, Wargrowlmon, fight them!"_

_Takato's rage was starting to overwhelm him "Digivolve!" he screamed,"Wargrowlmon, digivolve all the way to Mega!"_

_The bright winter sky turned black with storm clouds Lightning began to crash around them A group of bolts slammed into Wargrowlmon, and a whirlwind formed around him It grew in intensity until it exploded, revealing a massive dragon, saliva dripping from his massive teeth_

_The two of them began their assault Orion grabbed his metal sword, while Cyberdramon started to fire blasts of white energy at the dragon The Digital Hunter swung around behind Meggidramon and slashed across his neck with his sword The massive dragon growled in pain, then fell onto his back He was covered with bright light, then shrunk back into Guillmon_

_Almost instantly, Takato stopped his screaming and ranting He blinked a few times, then started panting He stared at the two children in front of him "Ai, Mako? What are you two doing here?"_

_"Don't ya' remember what happened?" Impmon asked_

_Takato suddenly gasped "Whatwhat did I do?"_

_"It looks like you have a few anger issues," Orion said, walking over to him_

_"Guilllmon!" Takato shouted, running over to him,"Guillmon, are you okay?"_

_The dinosaur slowly sat up "What happened? My head hurts"_

_"Oh, Guillmon, I'm so sorry"_

_The dinosaur shook his head,"Whatwhat did I do?"_

_"Listen guys," Orion said,"I understand that something traumatic just happened, but if you don't come with me right now, the Master Digidestined and Jeri Katou are going to be killed!"_

_"Don't anyone move!" he shouted Everyone was still as he slowly walked over to the glowing Digital Gate "If you don't want her to die, Kamiya, I suggest you come with me" He turned to his two Dark Tamers "Do it"_

_Barker pressed another button, and the glowing gate shot a beam of light that encompassed everyone except for Yamaki, who was too far away He knew that the others were about to be pulled in, so he quickly grabbed a device from his pocket and flung it at the nearest Tamer "Matsuki!" he shouted,"That's a Com device Use it to keep in touch!" The Hypnos commander wanted a response, but he received none as the two Master Digidestineds, the Tamers, the digimon, Jeri and Alice were pulled through_

_"Good luck," he sighed_

_Alice_ _took a deep breath, and screamed "Head to the Land of the Sovereigns! That's where the D-Reaper is sealed! The Dark Tamers will go there!"_

_"Do it!" Tai shouted The glowing Digital Gate fell apart, and the Light Tamers were flung over the Digital World_

**December 20, 2015**

**Warriors:**

**Chapter 2:**

As the sun slowly cast its rays over the rocky ground, it traveled over mountains, hills, small plants and a group of figures lying face first in the desert sand. When the bright heat of the sun flowed over them, the eldest figure slowly raised his head. "Oh man," he moaned, kneeling up,"What happened?"

He lightly rubbed the back of his neck, then glanced at the other lying figures. He jumped up and ran over to the two youngest ones. "Ai! Mako! Are you okay?"

The two young children slowly lifted their heads. "M..Master Kamiya," Ai said, standing up,"What happened?"

"I think we hit the ground," Mako moaned,"Man, my back hurts...Hey, Impmon!"

Tai stared at where the digimon were lying on the ground. "Agumon! Gatomon!"

The three digimon started to stand up. "We're all right," Agumon said.

Tai smiled as he knelt beside his two partners. Ai stumbled beside him and pulled on his shirt. "Master, what about him?"

Tai turned to where she was pointing. Orion and Cyberdramon were standing, but what was shocking Ai was the fact that Orion's metal mask was off. Tai gasped. "Ryo?"

The Digital Hunter stared at them. "Well, I guess you know now, huh?"

Tai stared back at him. "Is there something you want to tell us?"

Ryo sighed. "Well, I.."

"Why are you a Digital Hunter?" Tai shouted.

Ryo chuckled slightly. "Well, I, um, I..." He sighed,"I guess I joined Hypnos as a way to fight the digimon that were crossing into Earth."

Tai crossed his arms. "You fought us a couple of times."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that you were the Master Digidestined? Maybe if you had done your job when you were suppose to, there wouldn't have been a job for me, would there?"

Tai stared at him, trying to think of something to say, but was only able to cross his arms. "So, tell me how you got all of your impressive strength?"

He tapped his metal suit. "All of my power comes from here. Enhanced strength, speed, stamina, power, it's all in my suit."

"When did you get it? After you saved me from Millenniumon, or after you sold your soul?"

Ryo frowned. "Fine, I really don't care what you think of me, but maybe we can put aside our feelings and try to stop Hakkado from freeing D-Reaper?"

Tai sighed, then nodded. "Alright, fine."

"""""""""""""""""

Takato, Guilmon, Jenrya, Terriermon and Jeri found themselves floating in the middle of a large crystal blue lake. After they swam over to the shore, they investigated the area, which was appeared to be an underground cavern. The only exit was a dark tunnel that seemed to stretch forever.

"What do we do now?" Jeri asked, sitting down on a rock.

Jenrya sighed. "We've got to get to the Land of the Sovereigns."

"We've got to get out of here first!" Terriermon danced.

"But where are the others?" Guillmon asked,"Are we lost?"

Jeri smiled slightly, and scratched the dinosaur's head. "We'll get out, don't worry."

Takato peered into the dark tunnel. "We'll have to go through here."

"But we don't have a light," Jeri protested.

Takato sighed and reached into his pocket. He felt the square device that Yamaki gave him. "Hey, I forgot about this."

"What is that?" Jenrya asked.

"General Yamaki gave me this com device."

Jeri shrugged. "Why don't you give it a try?"

Takato shrugged. "Why not?" He activated it and sent a message to Yamaki. "I told him we made it."

"Now what do we do?" Jeri asked.

Jenrya sighed again. "We've got to figure a way to get out of here."

Takato pointed to the tunnel. "We have a way out."

"But we don't have a light."

"What about Guilmon's fire breath?" Terriermon suggested.

"What?" the dinosaur gasped.

Jenrya rubbed his chin. "We'll need something to lit it on. Hmm, that's a good idea."

""""""""""""""""""""

Kazu sighed as he glanced around the forest. "Well, this settles it, we're lost." He turned to glance over his shoulder where Alice, Miki, Kasumi and Snow Agumon were seated around a campfire. "Although, the scenery isn't that bad." He smiled,"I'm the only boy with a group of girls."

"Kazu," Guardromon said, walking over, with Calumon hovering behind him, "We have the fire started."

Kazu sighed. "Almost the only boy. Oh well, I'm sure the other guys are going to be jealous when they hear about this."

He chuckled, then walked over to the campsite. He sat down next to them. "Hey, girls, I just want you to know, that you don't have anything to fear while I'm here."

Miki snorted. "Come on, as I recall, you were screaming the most as the Digital Gate broke apart and we fell to the ground."

"Hey!"

Snow Agumon chuckled. "As I remember, I was the one that had to pull your drowned carcass from the river."

"All right, all right!" he snapped. He leaned back against one of the logs that were surrounding the campsite. "You're not worth impressing anyway," he muttered.

The group was quiet for a few minutes before they heard a loud snap from inside of the forest. They spun around everyone gave a small yelp, Kazu's the loudest. There was a giant horseman standing in front of them. He stared down at them. "Tamers, I presume?"

"Y..yeah!" Kazu shouted,"So what if we are?"

The horse chuckled. "I am Indramon, one of the holy Devas. I have been sent by the Sovereign to deliver the Catalyst back to him. Surrender peacefully, and you will not be harmed."

"Catalyst?" Alice gasped. She thought of the stack of papers that was in her bag."My grandfather mentioned a Catalyst."

"Ya' got to be kiddin'!" Kasumi shouted,"We're not going with ya'!"

Indramon chuckled. "So be it." He held up his massive hoof, "Sacred Army of the Sovereign attack!" Almost instantly, a swarm of flying digimon appeared in the sky.

"Time to go," Kazu said. The group spun around and charged out of the forest.

""""""""""""""""""""

Before the elevator doors were even fully opened, Yamaki jumped into the conference room, which was filled with the family members of the missing Tamers and Digidestined. He placed his laptop down, then bowed at the parents. "Thank you all for coming."

Mr. Matsuki stood up. "Can you tell us what is going on here?"

Yamaki held up his hand. "I will explain everything, please."

"Honey, sit down," Mrs. Matsuki grabbed her husband and yanked him into the seat.

Yamaki waited, then continued. "First I want to inform you that the attack on the school and the apprehension of your children was _not_ a government sanctioned operation. It was caused by a rouge agent, and we are just as anxious to find him and return your children to you."

He looked down at the table, where there were opened files in front of the parents. "Since you have read the files in front of you, I am not going to explain anything new to you. From what limited information we do have, Hakkado went into the Digital World to search for a powerful weapon. Your children were pulled inside the Digital World with him. "

"How do we get them out?" Rumiko asked.

"Master Kamiya has a D-3, which is the only device capable of opening a gate to the Digital World. However, we have not been able to contact him."

Nami shivered slightly. "Oh, Tai.."

"However," Yamaki continued,"We have had contact with the children."

The parents all perked up. "Really?" Mr. Katou asked.

Yamaki nodded. He turned the laptop around where the message from Takato was on the screen. "He's okay!" Mrs. Matsuki cried into her husband's shoulder,"He's okay..."

"What about Jenrya?" Mrs. Wong asked.

"And Rika?"

Yamaki moved the laptop over to Rumiko. "Type what you want."

""""""""

Back in the Digital World, Takato's COM device started to beep. He took it out and examined it. "We have mail." The others quickly looked over his shoulder as he opened the message from Yamaki. "Good. Glad to hear it."

"What's that other one?" Guillmon asked.

Takato opened it. "Oh, it's from Ms. Makino. She wants to talk to Rika." He looked at the others. "What should I do?"

"She'll get upset if she knows Rika isn't here," Jeri said.

Takato took a deep breath, then started writing. "This is Rika. Goggle Head finally gave me the stupid pen so I could write. I'm fine!" He sent the message.

Back on Earth, Rumiko and Rika's grandmother gave sighs of relief. "Rika's there!" Rumiko sighed.

She moved the laptop over to Kazu's parents.

Back in the Digital World, Takato started writing again. "This is Kazu, of course I'm okay! I am the man after all!"

After Takato wrote messages for the twins, Jeri and Jenrya gave messages to their parents. No one told them that they were trapped in an underground cavern with the only way out a dark tunnel. To make sure the conversation did not accidentally move that way, they said they had to keep moving, so they said good-bye and that they would try to get home soon.

On Earth, Yamaki closed his laptop. "I'll monitor in case they send more messages. And we'll try to get them back as soon as we can."

Dr. Wong stood up. "Yamaki, why are you helping us?"

He smiled slightly at him. "I know that we did not see eye-to-eye the last time we were together. I would like to burry the past, besides, I have witnessed the good those children are trying to do. I want to help any way I can, if you'll let me."

Dr. Wong smiled. "Thank you."

Yamaki placed a hand on his shoulder and the two walked out of the room. His demeanor changed. "I did not tell the others this, but we believe that Hakkado is seeking to unleash the D-Reaper."

Dr. Wong gasped. "That's why Jenrya wanted to know about it."

Yamaki nodded. "I would like your help. Please, tell me everything you know."

"""""""""""""""""""

The murderer of Kenta's father slowly followed the mountain's path until he reached a large building shaped very similarly to a church. In fact, it could have been classified as one, for this was holy ground. Lambert and Marine Devimon should not have even been there, it was a place for the divine, but beings of darkness such as they, go where they wish.

As the Dark Tamer and his partner approached the building, its large wooden doors swung open, and a massive rabbit creature walked out. It held up its hand, and spoke in a feminine voice. "Stop, you are not permitted to proceed any further. This is sacred ground of the Sovereigns. Turn back now."

Lambert grinned as he crossed his arms. "Who, may I ask, are you?"

"I am Antiramon of the Devas, the sacred warriors of the Sovereigns. I will not permit you to enter this holy place."

Lambert chuckled,"I am searching for the journal of Rob McCoy, known to you as Dolphin."

Antiramon did not flinch. "I have not heard of it."

Lambert shook his head. "Look, I know that the book is in there, you know that I know, and I know that you know that I know. So please, let's stop with that kind of talk."

Antiramon nodded slightly. "As you wish. I have been commanded by the Sovereign to guard that journal. I will not allow you to pass."

"Ha!" the Dark Tamer laughed,"You may think yourself powerful because you serve the four Holy Beasts, but I serve a deity more powerful then all of your Sovereigns put together. The Dark God of the Digital World."

Antiramon raised her eyebrow. "The Dark God?"

The Dark Tamer stepped aside and mentioned to his massive partner. "Marine Devimon will take it from here."

Before the Deva could even bow, Marine Devimon shot his tentacle into Antiramon. Luckily, she was fast enough to dodge to the right, and the squid's projectile slammed into a large rock that was in front of the church. Lambert's digimon began to pull his tentacle back, when Antiramon grabbed hold and was pulled back with it. She pointed her long feet at Marine Devimon's face, but the evil squid shot the other tentacle and knocked her to the ground.

The Deva jumped back onto her feet, then propelled even father into the sky. She twisted around in the air and landed forcefully on Marine Devimon's head. It was her intent to smash him into the ground, but he grabbed her and threw her into the wall of the church. She fell to the ground.

"Now do you see the power we have?" Lambert chuckled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his deck of modify cards. "Digi-modify! Strength Activate!"

Marine Devimon laughed as he felt a surge of power flow over him. He jumped forward and used his tentacle to grab Antiramon by her neck. She struggled to escape, but the squid's grip tightened. He began to mercilessly pound the rabbit with his massive fists. With every attack, Antiramon felt her strength slip away. Her face soon became bruised and bloodied as Marine Devimon laughed with glee.

_"How can this be?"_ Antiramon thought,"_I am a Deva, a sacred warrior, how can he be stronger than I? His Dark God must truly be powerful"_

After continuing his assault for a full five minutes of torture, the squid finally released her and she fell to the ground. She tried to get back to her feet, but she could not support her own weight.

Lambert walked to the entrance of the church and turned to his partner. "Do not let her escape. I am going inside."

"As you wish," Marine Devimon chuckled.

The Dark Tamer walked through the massive doors and entered a long hallway, filled with artifacts and antiquities belonging to the four Sovereigns. At the end of the hall was a giant alter. As he examined it, he found that there was a triangle shaped hole near the top, as if something had once been held there. He turned to the right and found what he was looking for: resting atop a stone pillar was Dolphin's journal. "Yes!" he grinned, "Master Hakkado's gonna like this!"

""""""""""""""""""""

Takato's group had solved their problem of illuminating the dark tunnel by Takato removing his shirt, of course, this meant he had to wrap his jacket even tighter, but once they wrapped the shirt around the end of a long stick shaped rock and Guilmon ignited the fabric, they had created a torch. With this, they were easily able to push back to darkness of the tunnel, and follow it, strangely enough, to a well-illuminated library.

"Where are we?" Takato asked, glancing around at the shelves of books along the wall.

"It's a library, no...it's a college classroom," Jenrya gasped,"But what is it doing here?"

While the two boys were examining the room, Jeri started to walk past the desks down the stairs until she reached the teacher's desk. She noticed that something was on the desk itself, sort of like a lump of laundry. When she reached closer, she suddenly realized what it was.

"Takato!" she shrieked, running up the stairs and jumping behind him.

"What?" he asked,"What's wrong?"

She was panting as she pointed to the desk,"There's a...a body on the desk!"

Takato and Jenrya spun around and saw where she was pointing. They nodded to each other, then slowly approached the lying body. Surprisingly, it slowly sat up!

Jeri gave a small yelp, as the man chuckled slightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I was just resting."

"Who are you?" Jenrya asked.

"My name is Mizuno, and..." His eyes wandered to Guilmon and Terriermon. "Are those..digimon?"

"Yes," Takato said,"That's Guilmon, and I'm his partner, Takato."

"I'm Jenrya, and this is Terriermon."

"I'm Jeri."

Mizuno nodded, but kept his gaze on Guilmon and Terriermon. "Wow, I've been here in this world for such a long time, but every time I see digimon, it still fills me with wonder. I should explain, you see, I was one of a group that created digimon. We called ourselves Monster Makers."

"Monster Makers?" Jenrya gasped,"Do you know my father, Jonyu Wong?"

"Tao!" Mizuno gasped,"I remember. You're his son?"

Jenrya nodded. "Yes."

"Wow, how is he?"

"He's probably worried sick about me right now. You see, we came to this world with the Master Digidestined of Tokyo."

He stared at them with a questioning gaze on his face,"You came from Tokyo?"

"That's right, why?"

He studied Takato and Guilmon. "Yes..yes, it is you. I wasn't sure."

Takato and Guilmon glanced at each other. "What about us?"

Mizuno nodded. "You see, at the beginning, digimon were nothing more than a project in creating artificial intelligence. We created the digimon from anything we could think of, legends, mythology, dreams," he chuckled slightly,"Even dinosaurs. But our funding dried up and the project was canceled. I still kept working on it, however, and created a program that would allow the digimon to keep evolving. They did so at a fantastic rate." He frowned,"Some digimon grew too powerful and began corrupted. When that happened, the good digimon called humans back to this world, the Digidestined. When these digimon saw that the evil was evolving, they created new digimon/human partners, called Tamers, but while a Digidestined's partner was chosen for him or her, digimon choose their own Tamers."

Jenrya glanced at Terriermon,"So that's why you came out of the computer game, for me?"

The small dog/bunny creature nodded. "Yup, because you needed me."

"But what about Guilmon?" Takato asked,"I drew him."

Mizuno nodded. "Yes, and he came to life when the E-Car hit you. I remember, because I was watching, not there, of course, I was still here, but you get the idea. The two of you have a connection deeper then any of the other Tamers. Guilmon is actually a part of you."

Takato and Guilmon glanced at each other again. "Wow," the dinosaur said.

The goggle-wearing Tamer nodded. "Okay, but can you answer me a question?"

"I'll try."

"After I received my D-Arc, I dreamt about Rika and Renamon in battle."

"Ah, Rika Nonaka, the self-proclaimed Digimon Queen. Yes, I know of her. " He sighed,"Well, the reason is quite simple, just as you and Guilmon are connected, so are you and Rika."

"What?" he asked.

Mizuno nodded. "Yes, tell me, how many times has she been in battle, and you've felt it? How many times has she been injured and you've felt injured too?"

Takato hesitated for a second, then rubbed his ankle. "Well, Rika twisted her ankle, and I..." his voice dropped to a whisper,"..my ankle's been hurting lately."

Mizuno nodded."Yes, you see."

"But...how? Why are we connected?"

Mizuno shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I really don't know. I can guess and say that you somehow...intercepted Rika's energy and used it to create a D-Arc."

"So, you're saying that I came from Rika?"

"Or she came from you. It's never easy to tell with these things."

"I've got to sit down," Takato said, rubbing his forehead.

"We're trying to reach the land of the Sovereigns," Jenrya said,"Do you know the way?"

Mizuno smiled. "Well, as it so happens, the Digimon Sovereigns live only one level above this one." He mentioned to a door on the right wall,"You can take that hall to reach them."

"Hey, thanks a lot!" Terriermon cheered.

Mizuno yawned. "Thank you. But, I'm starting to feel sleep again. If you'll excuse me," He lay back on the desk and was soon asleep.

Jenrya smiled slightly, then turned to his friends. "Come on, Master Kamiya is going to be waiting for us there."

Jeri lifted Takato up,"Let's go."

"Yeah, I'm coming."

""""""""""""""""""""

Kazu tackled Alice to the ground as a blast of fire shot over their heads and into a tree, blasting it into splinters. The blond girl stared up at Kazu. "Th..thank you."

He helped her to her feet. "Come on, we've got to keep moving."

The two teenagers ran over to where Kasumi and the others were waiting. "Great way to make a move, Kazu," Miki snorted.

He started to blush. "What are you talking about?"

Another fireball suddenly flew over their heads and destroyed another tree. "We should talk about this later!" Kazu shouted.

The group started running again until they had successfully exited the forest. They came to a fork in the path. One way lead down to what appeared to be the shore line, and the other way lead to a very large mountain. "Which way?" Kazu asked.

Alice stepped forward and stared at the mountain. "There, that's the Land of the Sovereigns."

"Wait a second," Kazu protested, "Half the Sovereign's army is on our butts, and you want me to go where they live!"

"Dad told everyone to meet up there," Kasumi said.

"All right!" Kazu shouted, "Let's do it!" He started running up the path towards the mountain. "Come on!" he shouted, "Hurry up before I change my mind!"

Miki sighed as the ground started running after him.

""""""""""""""

Makuramon and Chatsuramon were kneeling in front of the Sovereign Zhuqiaomon. "What is your progress on searching for the missing Catalyst?" the phoenix asked.

The dog spoke first. "Our information indicates that the Tamers have arrived in this world."

"So," the Sovereign said, "The Master Digidestined has returned."

"Yes, my lord," Chatsuramon said,"We believe that they have brought the Catalyst with them."

Makuramon cleared his throat. "I have sent Indramon to search for them."

Chatsuramon chuckled. "Just don't foul up again."

The monkey growled at him. "Don't forget, I found the journal!"

"But you failed to take all the copies that Alice McCoy had!" the dog growled,"You've failed too many times, banana-breath!"

"You're one to talk. You've done nothing but send the other Devas to their death! And besides, at least _I_ don't smell every time it rains!"

"Enough!" Zhuqiaomon shouted,"You two will work together to return the Catalyst to me!"

The two Devas bowed. "Yes, sir," they both said.

""""""""""""""""""""""

Rika glanced up from the campfire as Renamon appeared. "I've search all over the area, but I cannot find anyone else. We are alone."

The Digimon Queen sighed. "Well, we can only hope that the others landed together." She stood up and dusted off the back of her jeans. "Well, Master Kamiya told us to meet up at the Land of the Sovereigns, I guess we'd better head there."

The Tamer and her partner began to walk through the thick fog. Well, Renamon walked, but Rika hobbled on her un-injured ankle. "Renamon?" Rika asked.

"Yes?"

"Do you know the way to the Land of the Sovereigns?"

"No Rika."

"Oh."

The two walked in silence until the fog became less thick and they were aware that they were walking through a maze of Stonehenge-shaped rocks. Renamon suddenly ran up closer to Rika. "Someone's here! Up!"

The Digimon Queen turned her head to the sky.. On one of the shorter rocks sat the Dark Master Digidestined Hakkado. "Greetings."

Rika quickly grabbed her D-Arc. Hakkado held up his hands. "No, no, I am not here to fight you."

The teenager glared at him. "Then what are you here for?"

"I have come to offer you that which you seek the most."

Rika turned to glanced at her partner. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

Hakkado growled slightly. "You desire power, do you not?"

Rika smirked as she crossed her arms. "And what if I do?"

Hakkado smiled. "I can give you that power."

Rika dropped her arms. "You can?"

Renamon stepped forward. "Rika, be careful." The teenager ignored her and stared at the Dark Master Digidestined.

"Well?"

Hakkado smiled slightly. "You've seen my Tamers, Barker and Lambert. You've seen the power they posses, but you...I can do much with your hidden powers."

"My...hidden powers?"

"Yes, you mean Kamiya never told you? You were born on a very special day, perhaps the most important day in the history of the Digital World. The day Malomyotismon was destroyed. On that day, the gates between both worlds were open wide, allowing digital energy to flow freely to Earth. You were born when the Digital World was visible in the night sky. In a way, you were born from the Digital World, like Renamon. You two were literally made for each other. As such, you have a power hidden deep inside you. I can bring it out."

Rika stared at the ground, her open palms closing slightly. She looked to stare Hakkado straight in the eyes. "I know that there is always a price."

He chuckled. "Yes, I cannot give you this strength for free, you must perform a service to me."

"What?"

"Kill Kamiya and his Tamers!"

Rika gasped. "M..Master Kamiya? I...I..." She stared at the ground again. "What do I do?"

Renamon placed her paw on the Digimon Queen's shoulder. "Whatever you decide Rika, I will be behind you."

Rika was silent for a long time, before taking a deep breath. She stared back at the Dark Master Digidestined. "I don't like it, in fact, I hate it! But if you can make me powerful enough to defeat Master Kamiya, then I'll do it!"

Hakkado held out his Dark Digivice. "Then relinquish your soul!"

The ground beneath Rika and Renamon caved out and the two found themselves falling into a sea of darkness. An image appeared behind them, one of a massive digimon, with a black torso and a large diamond shaped bottom that had claws sprouting from all side. Above them, Hakkado laughed with delight.

"""""""""""""""""""""

Across the Digital World, Guilmon suddenly noticed that Takato was stumbling as he walked up the tunnel to the Land of the Sovereigns. "Takato, are you all right?"

"Y..yeah," he said, placing his hand on his forehead. He had to lean back against the wall,"I..I just feel weird all of a sudden."

"What's wrong?" Jeri asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"It's..it's Rika," he gasped, "Something's happened to Rika."

"Rika?" Jenrya asked,"Is she dead?"

The goggle-wearing Tamer shook his head. "No, no it's nothing like that. It feels...I know this is going to sound weird, but it feels like she's not all there."

"Like she split in half?" Terriermon bounced up and down.

"Like something's missing, like...everything that makes her.._her_ isn't there."

"You mean her soul?" Jeri asked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean! It's like her soul is gone."

"I'm sure she's fine..." Jenrya started, but Takato cut him off.

"No, something's wrong with her, something's very, very wrong."

Deep in the wastelands of the Digital World, the ground began to quake and tear apart. A figure shot up through the cracks, with a glowing yellow aura surrounding it. It appeared to be a human female, wearing yellow and black armor. She had long flowing white hair and carried a staff. When she spoke, it was in not one voice but two.

"This is incredible!" she laughed,"I've never felt power such as this! I am invincible!" She started flying across the land, "No longer am I Rika or Renamon! Look upon your new queen Digital World, I am Sakuyamon!"

to be continued...

_Next: Sakuyamon reaches the others and sparks are going to fly! And when Megidramon reappears, will the Digital World be destroyed? Or can Takato control his rage? Find out next!_

By the way, I need to know Makuramon's attack in the English dub. Can anyone help me? Thanks.

Well, school's going to be starting up again in a few weeks, and I want to get to a certain point in this story before I get bogged down again. So, I've been doing nothing but writing in all of my free time. I've discovered that if I don't do anything except for writing, I can get a chapter out pretty quickly.

I know all you Rika fans probably hate me, but please keep reading, and don't stop reviewing. I'm one of those author's that really, _really_ like reviews.


	12. Warriors: Chapter 3

Previously...

_Tai turned to where she was pointing Orion and Cyberdramon were standing, but what was shocking Ai was the fact that Orion's metal mask was off Tai gasped "Ryo?"_

_He smiled slightly at him "I know that we did not see eye-to-eye the last time we were together I would like to burry the past, besides, I have witnessed the good those children are trying to do I want to help any way I can, if you'll let me"_

_Dr Wong smiled "Thank you"_

_Yamaki placed a hand on his shoulder and the two walked out of the room His demoner changed serious "I did not tell the others this, but we believe that Hakkado is seeking to unleash the D-Reaper"_

_Dr Wong gasped "That's why Jenrya wanted to know about it"_

_Yamaki nodded "I would like your help Please, tell me everything you know"_

_"How can this be?" Antiramon thought,"I am a Deva, a sacred warrior, how can he be more stronger than I? His Dark God must truly be powerful"_

_After continuing his assult for a full five minutes of torture, the squid finally released her and she fell to the ground She tried to get back to her feet, but she could not support her own weight_

_Lambert walked to the entreance of the church and turned to his partner "Do not let her escape I am going inside"_

_"As you wish," Marine Devimon chuckled_

_The Dark Tamer walked through the massive doors and entered a long hallway, filled with artifacts and antiquities belonging to the four Sovereigns At the end of the hall was a giant alter As he examined it, he found that there was a triangle shaped hole near the top, as if something had once been held there He turned to the right and found what he was looking for: resting atop a stone pillar was Dolphin's journal "Yes!" he grinned,"Master Hakkado's gonna like this!"_

_"Who are you?" Jenrya asked_

_"My name is Mizuno,"_

_Mizuno nodded "You see, at the beginning, digimon were nothing more than a project in creating artifical intelligence We created the digimon from anything we could think of, legends, mythology, dreams," he chuckled slightly,"Even dinosuars But our funding dried up and the project was canceled I still kept working on it, however, and created a program that would allow the digimon to keep evolving They did so at a fantastic rate" He frowned,"Some digimon grew too powerful and began corrupted When that happened, the good digimon called humans back to this world, the Digidestined When these digimon saw that the evil was evolving, they created new digimon/human partners, called Tamers, but while a Digidestined's partner was choosen for him or her, digimon choose their own Tamers"_

_"Ah, Rika Nonaka, the self-proclaimed Digimon Queen Yes, I know of her " He sighed,"Well, the reason is quite simple, just as you and Guilmon are connected, so are you and Rika"_

_"What?" he asked_

_Mizuno nodded "Yes, tell me, how many times has she been in battle, and you've felt it? How many times has she been injured and you've felt injured too?"_

_Takato hesitated for a second, then rubbed his ankle "Well, Rika twisted her ankle, and I" his voice dropped to a whisper,"my ankle's been hurting lately"_

_Mizuno nodded"Yes, you see"_

_"Buthow? Why are we connected?"_

_Mizuno shrugged "I'm sorry, but I really don't know I can guess and say that you somehowintercepted Rika's energy and used it to create a D-Arc"_

_"So, you're saying that I came from Rika?"_

_"Or she came from you It's never easy to tell with these things"_

_Hakkado smiled slightly "You've seen my Tamers, Barker and Lambert You've seen the power they posses, but youI can do much with your hidden powers"_

_"Myhidden powers?"_

_"Yes, you mean Kamiya never told you? You were born on a very special day, perhaps the most important day in the history of the Digital World The day Malomyotismon was destroyed On that day, the gates between both worlds were open wide, allowing digital energy to flow freely to Earth You were born when the Digital World was visable in the night sky In a way, you were born from the Digital World, like Renamon You two were literally made for each other As such, you have a power hidden deep inside you I can bring it out"_

_Rika stared at the ground, her open palms closing slightly She looked to stare Hakkado straight in the eyes "I know that there is always a price"_

_He chuckled "Yes, I cannot give you this strength for free, you must perform a service to me"_

_"What?"_

_"Kill Kamiya and his Tamers!"_

_Rika was silent for a long time, before taking a deep breath She stared back at the Dark Master Digidestined "I don't like it, in fact, I hate it! But if you can make me powerful enough to defeat Master Kamiya, then I'll do it!"_

_"This is incredible!" she laughed,"I've never felt power such as this! I am invincible!" She started flying across the land, "No longer am I Rika or Renamon! Look apon your new queen Digital World, I am Sakuyamon!"_

**December 20, 2015**

**Warriors**

**Chapter 3**

Wong sighed as he leaned back in his seat. His sigh quickly turned into a growl as he stared at the computer screen. The status bar on the screen was just barely reaching the fifty percent mark. "I thought these computers were supposed to get faster?"

He glanced around at the computer lab he was working in, surrounded by countless Hypnos technicians and a group of co-workers, no,_friends_ that he had not seen in years, but knew that they would come to help, simply if he asked for it.. One of these friends, an older black man with thick sunglasses walked over. "What's wrong?"

Wong frowned. "How am I supposed to work on these calculations, when by the time this stupid thing finishes processing I'll be an old man?" He glanced at the black man. "Don't say anything, Babel."

The other Monster Maker slowly sipped his tea. "If you're insinuating that I'd make a remark about how you could possibly get any older, I'd never do that. You old fossil."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

A woman with short blond hair came over. "Tao, we've got a problem."

"What's wrong, Daisy?"

She placed a piece of paper in front of him. "These calculations aren't finished yet."

Babel answered her."Give them to Curly. See what she can do."

"Right."

"Just tell her to be careful with my baby."

"Since when is the Ark yours?" Wong asked with a grin.

"Hey, I was the one that created the core program," he said, walking over to a large projector sized screen with an image of a large ship that resembled a D-Arc,"Don't worry kids, we'll get you back."

"""""""""""""""""""""

Kazu grumbled as he climbed over the ledge and found himself on solid ground once again. He took a deep breath, and then wiped his forehead. "Wow, that was one heck of a work out."

"Kazu!"

He quickly turned around and helped Miki onto the cliff, then did the same with Kasumi and Alice. Guardromon hovered onto the cliff carrying Snow Agumon and Calumon. Kazu hit him in the head. "You big dofus! Why didn't you tell me you could carry us?"

"Well, you didn't ask."

Kazu started pulling his hair out. "Ahh!"

Miki brushed the dust off her jeans. "If you two goofballs are done, we should keep going."

Kazu grumbled again, then noticed that someone was missing. "Where's Kasumi?"

The group suddenly heard Tai's daughter shout out to them. "Guys! You'd better come and see this!"

They ran over the hills until they reached a large wooden building, very similar to a church. The teenage girl was standing in front of the door, pointing to a massive figure that was lying on the ground. "Take a look at this." She held her D-Arc over the figure. "Antiramon, one of the Devas, but what happened to her?"

Calumon hovered over. "She got beat up pretty bad."

Kazu crossed his arms. "It looks like her rabbit foot didn't do her any good."

"Kazu!" the girls shouted.

Antiramon started to glow, and then she shrunk down to a small rabbit like creature. "Now she looks like Terriermon," Calumon said,"Except she looks like chocolate." His ears shrunk into his head,"I miss my cream puffs."'

"That's Lopmon," Guardromon explained," I belive she is a beast type digimon."

The small digimon slowly started to sit up. Snow Agumon bent down and helped her sit up. "It's okay, you were hurt pretty bad, but I think you'll be all right."

"Thank you." She looked at the humans, then darted back,"W..what are you doing here?"

Alice spoke for them. "We are searching for the Land of the Sovereigns."

"You have found it, but why are you here?"

"We were brought here by the Dark Digidestined Master. We are searching for our Master Digidestined. When we re-join with them, we will stop the revival of the D-Reaper."

Lopmon nodded. "So, you and I are on the same side."

Miki snorted. "Finally, someone believes us."

"But that horse guy is still after us!" Kazu pointed out.

"Indramon," Lopmon corrected,"I will come with you, Indramon will listen to me."

Kazu nodded. "All right, let's keep searching for Mr. Kamiya."

Snow Agumon began to sniff the air. "What's wrong?" Kasumi asked.

"I spell something," she said,"A very familiar sent...its Guilmon!"

Kazu looked around. "I don't see him."

The white dinosaur continued to smell the air. She bowed and started to sniff around the ground. "Here."

Calumon cocked his head to the side. "He's on the ground."

She continued to sniff the air until she reached one of the many rocks littering the area. "Here."

The rest of the group glanced at each other. Kasumi walked over to her partner. "Um, are you okay?"

The white dinosaur glared at her,"Help me push." The two girls started to push the rock, and the Tamer was surprised when the rock moved aside to reveal a large hole. It was not the hole, however, that cause her to gasp, it was Guilmon, Takato, Jenrya, Terriermon and Jeri staring at them. "Hey guys," Jenrya smiled.

Kazu came over and helped Kasumi pulled the other teenagers onto the surface. "What were you guys doing under there?"

"We met up with a friend of my father's," Jenrya explained,"He showed us the way to get here."

Takato quickly looked at the group. "Where's Rika?"

"We haven't seen her since the Digital Gate collapsed," Guardromon said.

Takato sighed. "Oh."

"What's wrong?" Miki asked.

"Something happened to her," he said,"Something really bad."

"How do you know?" Alice asked.

Takato hesitated, so Terriermon spoke. "He found out that he and Rika are the same person!"

"Terriermon!" Jenrya shouted. He sighed as he looked at the others,"What he means is, we just found out that there's some kind of connection between Takato and Rika. We don't really understand it."

Lopmon shook her head. "You humans are very confusing."

The new group stared at the small digimon. "Who are you?"

"We'll explain on the way," Kazu said.

""""""""""""""""""""""

Tai, the twins, Ryo and their digimon had managed to reach a waterfall area surrounded by red: the ground was red, the rocks were red, even the sky was red. "Where are we?" the Master Digidestined asked. He placed his hand on his forehead and glanced around,"This looks like the inside of a volcano, or something."

"Mr. Kamiya!" Ai shouted,"Look as this!"

He turned and saw where the child was pointing; it was a strange red bridge that hovered over the chasm and connected to a hive-shaped building. "I wonder what that is?" Ai asked.

"Maybe it's a castle?" Agumon asked.

"Or a dungeon," Gatomon mumbled.

Ryo sighed. "So, now what do we do?"

Mako looked up at the group. "Maybe we should wait for the others?"

"But how long will that take?" Ryo asked,"We don't even know where we are, how can we be sure that they're going to come this way?"

Cyberdramon started to growl. "Someone's coming."

"Where?" Ryo asked.

Everyone was dead silent as they stared where the dragon digimon was pointing. A few seconds later, their missing members walked over the horizon. "Mr. Kamiya!" they all shouted.

Tai gave a very relieved sigh. "You're all okay..." His smile faded,"But, where's Rika?"

"We don't know," Takato said,"But I've got a feeling something very bad has happened to her."

Tai just nodded."I'm sure she's okay. We've got to find out where we are."

Lopmon bowed in front of Tai. "Master Kamiya."

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am Lopmin, I am one of the Devas, and I am here to aid you."

"Oh, um, can you tell me where we are?"

"This is one of the four quadrants of the Land of the Sovereigns," she said,"To be more precise, the realm of Zhuqiaomon."

He sighed. "Figures we'd end up where he is." He turned to Alice,"Well, do you have any idea where the D-Reaper is sealed?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry, sir."

Tai was about to respond, when they heard Jeri give a small shout. The Master Digidestined spun around and found that Hakkado and a black version of Wargreymon were standing in front of the red bridge. "Greetings," he chuckled.

Tai growled,"What do you want?"

He laughed. "What do you think? I want Calumon!"

"Calumon?" Tai asked, glancing to where Alice was holding the small Digimon, "Why do you want him?

Hakkado just chuckled. "Give him to me, or else."

Tai turn to the others. "If I tell you to run with Calumon, do it." He turned back around and held his digivice towards Agumon. "Ready."

He nodded. "Agumon warp digivolve to Wargreymon!"

Tai turned to the others. "We will handle this. You guys stay here."

"Are you sure?" Ryo asked.

Tai's eyes narrowed as he stared at Hakkado. "This is a matter of honor. I don't expect you to understand." He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small metal rod, which quickly opened up into a sword.

Ryo just nodded "If you say so."

Hakkado laughed as he produced his own sword. "Amazing isn't it? We're exact opposites, aren't we? Light and Dark."

Tai and Wargreymon slowly moved closer to Hakkado and Black Wargreymon. "How, how do you have a Black Wargreymon?"

Hakkado grinned. "You were created by Azulongmon, right? He used Gennai to create your digivice, along with the other Digidestineds, right? Well, I was given my digivce from someone very similar to Gennai, under orders from a Dark God."

"Who?" Tai demanded,"Who's this..Dark God."

Hakkado grinned. "Apocalymon."

"Apocalymon!"

"Yes, and I will do his bidding, by unleashing the D-Reaper onto the Earth!"

Tai growled,"You've got to get past me first!"

Hakkado held out his sword. "Then let's go."

The two Master Digidestined launched at each other. Their swords met in a giant clash, while their two Wargreymons slammed into each other. Tai swung his sword at Hakkado's head, but the evil Digidestined blocked with his sword. Tai use his foot to try to knock Hakkado to the ground, but the Dark Digidestined Master jumped backwards. "Not bad."

"You haven't seen anything yet."

While Tai and Hakkado battled, their digimon were engaged in a battle of their own. Wargreymon tore his gauntlets across Black Wargreymon's armor. The dark version slammed his knee into the normal version, throwing him back slightly. Tai's digimon swung his arm around and managed to knock Hakkado's digimon into the ground. Black Wargreymon swung his foot around and into Wargreymon's feet. Tai's digimon was knocked onto the ground. Black Wargreymon leapt into the air, his claws pointed at Wargreymon, but the normal version twisted out of the way.

Over on the sidelines, the Tamers were in awe as they watched the battle. "This is incredible!" Takato gasped,"To think that our teacher had this kind of power!"

"I know," Jeri said,"It's...amazing."

Tai and Hakkado continued to battle each other, their swords clashing into one another, a light show of energy exploded into the red sky. While their swords were firmly pressed against one another, Tai snuck his foot behind Hakkado and yanked it forward. The Dark Master Digidestined fell onto his back and dropped his sword. Tai jumped on top of him and pressed the point of his sword against his neck. "Call your digimon off, now!"

Hakkado nodded slightly to Black Wargreymon. He stood firmly in place as Wargreymon wrapped the evil dinosaur's arms behind him and held it tight. The Dark Master Digidestined chuckled slightly. "So, you've managed to subdue Black Wargreymon, but you've got a bigger threat coming."

"What are you talking about?"

Hakkado grinned, and pointed to the sky. Tai turned around slightly and saw a female figure drop in the center of the group. She had long white hair and pointed ears, and was wearing black and yellow armor. Tai turned back around and lifted Hakkado to his feet and pressed his sword directly at his neck. "Who is she?" Tai demanded,"Who is she?"

The figure laughed in a voice that was a mixture of two voices, but two voices that everyone recognized. "What, you don't recognize me?"

"Rika?" Takato gasped.

"Renamon!" Guilmon shouted.

"That's right, we have joined to become a mega digimon. You can call me Sakuyamon!"

Tai started shaking Hakkado. "What did you do to her!"

"I just brought out her true potential. I did what you were afraid to do."

Tai turned back to Sakuyamon. "What did you promise him?"

The mega digimon held her staff out in front of her. "Your deaths. Don't take it personal, its just business." She began her assault with Snow Agumon. She kicked the white dinosaur to the ground with ease, and then whacked her staff into Guardromon's head. After he was knocked over, she moved over to Cyberdramon. She had slightly more trouble with the Ultimate, but was able to take care of him without breaking a sweat. She threw Terriermon, Gatomon and Lopmon into one of the red boulders with ease. She knew Wargreymon could not fight because he was holding Black Wargreymon, so she turned to Takato and Guilmon. "What's wrong, Goggle-head?" she chuckled,"Too scared to fight?"

"I'm not going to fight you, Rika," he said,"You don't have do this."

"Yes I do!" she shouted,"I finally have the power, the power that is mine by right!" She started laughing with glee,"And I'm going to _make_ you fight me!" She darted to the side and grabbed Jeri.

"Jeri!" Takato shouted.

Sakuyamon chuckled as she held the quivering brown hair girl in her left hand. She used her other hand to hold her staff up against Jeri's neck. "Fight me, or I kill her."

The brunette was almost in tears. "Takato," she quivered,"Please help me."

"Jeri!" Tai shouted. He moved his sword away from Hakkado's neck. The evil Digidestined quickly swung his leg around and knocked Tai to the ground. He grabbed his sword and jumped onto his feet. The two Master Digidestined began to fight again. Wargreymon was still holding his dark reflection at bay, so neither of them could help.

Meanwhile, the other Tamers had helped their injured digimon. Jenrya picked up Terriermon and stared at Sakuyamon and Takato. "What do we do?" Kasumi gasped, walking over with Snow Agumon.

Jenrya shook his head. "I don't know, I really don't know."

The two teenagers stared at Takato. His fists were clenched so tightly that they almost drew blood. He was shaking with rage. The twins saw this, and ran over as far as they could. "Takato!" Ai shouted,"Don't get angry!"

Mako joined her. "Remember what happened before! Remember what happened when you got angry!"

Takato tried to keep his rage under control, but it was too much for him. He screamed, and Guilmon's eyes instantly dilated. He grabbed his D-Arc, and Wargrowlmon appeared behind him. "If you want to fight, you're going to get it!" Takato screamed. He turned to his digimon. "Digivolve! Digivolve to Mega!"

Wargrowlmon was covered by a cyclone of yellow light and when it vanished a giant red dragon with massive wings appeared. Ai and Mako stared at each other. "Megidramon."

Sakuyamon laughed. "Finally!" She flung Jeri into the ground. The teenager twisted around at stared at the massive Megidramon.

"Takato..what did you do to him? What did you...it was me," she stared crying,"You flipped out...because of me. Oh, Takato, I'm so sorry."

Tai momentarily stopped his battle with Hakkado and stared at Megidramon. "Takato, what did..."

Hakkado used this opportunity to pound his fist into Tai's stomach. The Master Digidestined stumbled backwards, and Hakkado ran over to Alice. He quickly threw her to the ground and grabbed Calumon. "Black Wargreymon, let's go, now!"

The evil digimon twisted his leg under Wargreymon. Tai's digimon released his grip and Hakkado's digimon swung around. He quickly threw his Terra Destroyer at Wargreymon. At such a close proximity, he regressed to Agumon and tumbled over to Tai's side.

Hakkado grinned at Tai. "If you want me, Kamiya, come and get me!" Black Wargreymon grabbed both him and Calumon and flew away.

Tai got back onto his feet. He stared at the disappearing Dark Digidestined Master, but turned to where Megidramon and Takato were staring down Sakuyamon. "Rika!" he shouted, running over to them,"Rika, can't you see you're being used? Power isn't everything!"

Sakuyamon glared at him. "Shut up, Old Man!"

Tai growled. "I am the Master Digidestined, I command you to stop!"

Sakuyamon laughed,"I'm through taking orders from you, Old Man! Master Hakkado told me the truth about my birthday. You tried to hide it from me!"

Tai sighed,"That's only because I didn't want to hurt you.."

"You were afraid I'd hurt _you_ if I knew my full potential! That's right, Master Hakkado explained everything!"

"Rika.."

"Quiet!" she shouted. She swung her staff into Tai's side and sent him flying backwards into a pile of red rocks. The others watched in horror as a large red stain began to appear on his side.

"Daddy!" Kasumi shouted, charging towards him. The others were in complete shock.

Kazu shook his head. "No, I..I can't believe she got Mr. Kamiya. No."

Tai stared at Rika. "Wh..why can't you understand...Rika..people live forever through the memories they leave behind...through their legacy. Some leave behind love and peace, others hate and betrayal. Tell me Rika...w..what will your legacy..be..?" His eyelids closed shut and it fell to the side.

"Daddy!" Kasumi shouted,"Daddy!"

Sakuyamon laughed. "My legacy? My legacy will be power, strength!"

Takato stared at Tai, then back at Sakuyamon. He had enough. He screamed with rage. "That is it! You're going to pay!"

Megidramon leapt forward and threw Sakuyamon to the ground. The battle had begun.

Back on the sideline, Kasumi check her father's wounds. "Jenrya! He's barely breathing!"

Jenrya glanced around,"Oh, what do I do?"

Sakuyamon whacked her staff into Megidramon's side, but the dragon slammed his fist into the fox woman's side. Sakuyamon twirled her staff into the dragon's side, then jumped back to a safe distance.

She stared at the drooling dragon, then gripped her staff tightly. "You're strong, Megidramon, but I'm stronger!" She launched forward and began to attack the dragon with such furry and savagery that, if Megidramon were any other digimon, she surely would have been victorious, but the dragon was not any other digimon.

Megidramon used his tail to whip around Sakuyamon and throw her to the ground. She struggled to move, but had to quickly throw her hands up to hold back the dragon's jaw. She stared into his massive mouth, saliva dripping all around. "You know, this isn't a very attractive side of you."

"Yes!" Takato shouted,"Crush her, kill her!"

Jeri started to back away from him. "Takato, I'm...I'm so sorry. If only I had the strength to break free then you..."

Jenrya stared at Sakuyamon and Megidramon from the sideline. He turned to Terriermon,"We've got to stop them! Both of them!"

"Why should we bother?" he asked,"Why don't we just wait until one of them beats the other?"

Jenrya stared at him,"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." He turned to look at the others,"With Mr. Kamiya out, Agumon can't evolve into Wargreymon."

Terriermon nodded."Not to mention that both he and Gatomon and unconscious."

"Guardromon's unconscious, Kasumi's too worried about her father to make Snow Agumon digivolve, and so far Impmon hasn't show the ability to go any higher. With Mr. Kamiya, Takato and Rika out, the strongest one is Orion." He pulled a card out of his deck,"Ready Terriermon?"

His digimon nodded,"Do it!"

"Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution Activate!"

"Terriermon matrix digivolve to Rapidmon!"

Jenrya shouted to Ryo. "Orion! We've got to attack them before it's too late!"

The Digital Hunter nodded. "Cyberdramon..."

"I understand," the dragon growled. He shot to the sky and followed Rapidmon over to the two Megas.

Sakuyamon saw the two Ultimates coming to attack her. She had to act quickly. Taking a deep breath, she quickly shifted her arms so that her left hand was back Megidramon's jaw and her right hand was free to point at Rapidmon and Cyberdramon. She gave a small scream, and a large bubble encased the two digimon.

Jenrya and Ryo gasped. "What is that?" Jenrya gasped.

"It looks like a variation of Taomon's shield attack!" Ryo gasped.

Sakuyamon chuckled. "It's more than that." She started to slowly close her right palm, and to everyone's horror, the bubble around the two ultimate digimon began to shrink!

"We've got to get out of here!" Rapidmon shouted.

Cyberdramon growled. "If you have an idea, I'm ready to hear it!"

Back on the ground, Jenrya shouted to Ryo. "Orion, the Alias!"

"Got it!"

"Digi-modify! Alias Activate!" Both Cyberdramon and Rapidmon were covered with a hazy light, and then duplicates of them fell out of the bubble and onto the ground. Rapidmon was too weak to sustain his Ultimate form and shrunk into Terriermon. Cyberdramon was strong enough to remain the same, but he was very weak. The two looked to the sky and watched as their duplicates in the bubble were crushed and reduced to the data. The glowing particles flowed into Sakuyamon, giving her a boost of strength.

"Yes!" she shouted. She used her free hand to slam her fist into Megidramon, sending the dragon falling over onto his back. The fox woman did not waste any time. She performed a series of back flips and landed a safe distance away. Absorbing the powers of two Ultimate digimon had taken its toll on her. She fell to the ground and began to moan. "Too...much... power ...but...I...can take...it..."

As soon as Megidramon fell to the ground, Takato's screaming rage ceased. He blinked a few times, and then stared at Megidramon, releasing what had happened. "Guilmon!" he shouted, jumping to his side,"Guilmon, oh, I'm so sorry. You were fine until I messed you up." He looked to the ground,"Whenever you digivolved before, it was always because of my desire to save lives, to protect the people I care about. But...but Megidramon was created because of my hate, my anger. Rika and Renamon had to pay for what they did, they had to hurt, and...and look what I did to you."

Jenrya lifted Terriermon. "Are you okay?"

The small dog/bunny smiled at him. "Yeah, I'll be fine..."

Kazu had managed to awaken Guardromon, and the two of them were now running over to pull Jeri from harm's way. They found her sitting on the ground, staring at Takato and Megidramon. "Jeri, come on, we've got to go."

She kept staring at the ground. "This is all my fault, this is all my fault."

Kazu walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Jeri.."

"Don't touch me!" she shouted, batting his hand away,"Just...leave me alone..."

"What's wrong with her?" Jenrya asked, running over.

Kazu shook his head. "I don't know. For some reason, she thinks all of this is her fault."

"Jenrya!" Miki shouted,"Look at Sakuyamon!"

Everyone twirled their heads around and saw that the fox woman was standing up, one shoulder had Cyberdramon's wing, and the other had Rapidmon's wing. The two foreign objects pulled back in side of her. "Now..I'm ready."

"This isn't good!" Jenrya shouted,"If she's successfully assimilated Rapidmon and Cyberdramon's powers, then we're in serious trouble."

Sakuyamon turned her attention to the fallen Megidramon and Takato. "I'll start with you two."

"Takato!" Jenrya shouted,"You've got to get out of the way!"

"Takato!" Kazu shouted,"Move, move, move!"

The Goggle-wearing Tamer did not hear anything that his friends were saying. He was too engrossed with his own self-pity to notice Sakuyamon staring at him. "Guilmon, I'm sorry!"

There was a bright flash of light, and Takato found himself floating in a dark void with millions of small Guilmons floating around him. He was confused,"What..what's going on? Why are there so many Guilmons? He's the only Guilmon in the Digital W...Wait...I think I understand...I can chose another one? I can pick another Guilmon?"

He stared downward, and then shot back to the sky,"I don't want another one! I want my Guilmon, the one that I made! We've had our problems, but he's still my friend! I don't want another one, I want mine!"

He suddenly found himself back in the Digital World. Megidramon had changed back to Guilmon and was lying on the ground. Takato wrapped his arms around him. "Guilmon!"

The small dinosaur blinked a few times as he stood up. "Takato, what's wrong?"

"Guilmon, you're back." Takato had tears running down his face,"Guilmon, I'm so sorry for what I did to you."

Guilmon was about to respond, when they heard their friends calling out to him. They turned are saw the fox woman staring at them. "We've got to fight her," Takato said.

Guilmon nodded. "But how, we're not strong enough."

Takato sighed. "I know, if only there was a way I could fight along side you, we'd be unstoppable."

"Maybe you can. Try wishing for it. That always worked before."

Takato smiled slightly,"Yeah." He closed his eyes,"I wish I could fight alongside Guilmon."

A bright light suddenly exploded from the Tamer and the Digimon, shooting up to the sky. When it faded, a new figure stood in their place, like a knight from long ago, wearing shiny white armor, a shield in one arm and a javelin in the other. His red cape billowed behind him by a wind that the others did not feel.

Sakuyamon roared with anger. "No! No!"

"Sakuyamon," the figure said in a mixture of Takato and Guilmon's voices,"You've rejected every friendship offered you. Instead, you betrayed us and almost killed a noble soul, I will never forgive what you have done."

Sakuyamon chuckled,"Who said anything about forgiveness!"

Takato and Guilmon pointed their javelin at the fox woman. "So be it! Justice will be served!"

to be continued...


	13. Warriors: Chapter 4

**December 21, 2015**

**Warriors:**

**Chapter 4**

A bright light suddenly exploded from the Tamer and the Digimon, shooting up to the sky. When it faded, a new figure stood in their place, like a knight from long ago, wearing shiny white armor, a shield in one arm and a javelin in the other. His red cape billowed behind him by a wind that the others did not feel.

"Guilmon bio-merge to Gallantmon!"

Sakuyamon roared with anger. "No! No!"

"Sakuyamon," the figure said in a mixture of Takato and Guilmon's voices,"You've rejected every friendship offered you. Instead, you betrayed us and almost killed a noble soul, I will never forgive what you have done."

Sakuyamon chuckled,"Who said anything about forgiveness!"

Takato and Guilmon pointed their javelin at the fox woman. "So be it! Justice will be served!"

The two megas shot at each other. Gallantmon swung his lance at Sakuyamon's head, but she swung her staff up and easily blocked it. She was more agile then the giant knight, so she was easily able to twist around and slam her foot into Gallantmon's face. The intense pain of Sakuyamon's heels across his metal face caused him to stumble backwards.

"I'm too much for you, aren't I?" Sakuyamon chuckled.

Gallantmon pointed his lance at the fox woman. "I am not going to stop. Justice must be served!"

The two megas shot into each other, in an explosion of light and force.

Over on the sidelines, the other Tamers were in complete awe-struck. "What happened to Takato?" Miki asked.

"He's bonded with Guilmon!" Ryo gasped,"Just like Rika and Renamon!"

Jenrya took out his D-Arc and held it towards the new mega. "Gallantmon. This is Guilmon's true mega form!"

"It's incredible!" Kazu gasped. He turned to Guardromon. "Hey, can we do that?"

His partner stammered an answer. "Well, I, um, that is...well, I..I don't know."

Kasumi and the twins were dressing Tai's wounds when they stopped for a moment to stare at the battle occurring a few feet in front of them. "I don't believe it," Ai said,"We can join with our digimon?"

Tai slowly opened his eyes and stared at Gallantmon. "Way to go, kid," he said weakly,"I knew you could do it...Arg!"

Kasumi twirled around and glared at him. "Dad, I told you not to talk!" She took off her jacket and bunched it up under Tai's head like a pillow. Mako gave her his small jacket, which she then tied around her father's stomach to stop the bleeding. "Don't worry, Dad, you'll be okay."

Sakuyamon swung her staff at the knight, but Guilmon and Takato's fused form blocked with his shield. He swung his lance around to pierce the fox woman's side. He was able to hurt her, but it was not enough to bring her to her knees. She twisted around and executed a roundhouse, connected her heel with Gallantmon's head.

The knight swung his lance to slice Sakuyamon in half, but she quickly shot her staff up. The two warriors became engaged in a power struggle. Neither fighter would give up, and they would use every once of their strength to make the other fall.

"You'll never win!" Sakuyamon shouted,"I am the strongest being in all of the Digital World!"

"I will not give up!" Gallantmon said,"Justice must be served!"

Sakuyamon slowly raised her palm towards the knight. "Spirit Strike!" Gallantmon was thrown backwards where he crashed into the ground. Rika and Renamon's fused form launched into the air, and shot to the ground, her staff pointed right at Gallantmon's head, but the mega knight quickly thrust his lance at her. "Lightning Joust!" Sakuyamon was hit in the stomach, and was flung backward. She twisted around in the sky before slamming into the ground.

Jeri was standing on the other side of the battlefield, watching through horrified eyes. She had an extreme feeling of depression inside of her stomach that threatened to encompass her. "Takato, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault! You wouldn't have fought Rika if she hadn't of threatened me. You're fighting her now because of me. We wouldn't even be in the Digital World right now if Hakkado didn't use me to keep Mr. Kamiya from fighting him. Oh Takato, this is all my fault, everything is all my fault!"

Gallantmon began to pound Sakuyamon with his shield, but the fox woman created a magic beam that made him stumble backwards. She started to mercilessly attack him. Slashing and pounding with her staff.

Back on the sidelines, Jenrya, Kazu, Ryo, the twins, Alice and their digimon were watching the battle with such intensity that they were not even aware that Miki, Kasumi and Snow Agumon were busy taking care of Tai's wounds. If they were paying attention, they may have noticed that Hakkado and his two Dark Tamers had returned.

They quietly snuck around the rocks and quickly made their way over to the fallen Master Digidestined. The Dark Master Digidestined grabbed his Light counterpart, while Barker and Lambert quickly grabbed Miki and Kasumi, firmly placing their hands over the girls' mouths. Snow Agumon was about to shout out, but Skull Satanmon silently smashed his palm over the white dinosaur's head, knocking her unconscious. The Dark Tamers and the Dark Master Digidestined silently made their way back over to the rocks where they disappeared.

Gallantmon shot his elbow into Sakuyamon's face, but she jabbed her staff into his stomach. He countered by bashing his shield into her face. He dropped his lance to the ground, then grabbed Sakuyamon by her hair, and jumped into the sky. He twisted her around, then firmly placed his knee into her back. When she slammed into the ground, she was injured, not only from the ground, but from Gallantmon's weight as well. Takato and Guilmon's fused form jumped backwards to a safe distance.

Sakuyamon slowly got to her feet, using her staff as a crutch. "I'm..getting very tired of you," she panted,"I'm going...going to tear you apart!"

Gallantmon chuckled. "From where I'm standing, it looks like you can hardly stand!" He pointed his shield at the fox woman. "Take this! Shield of the Just!"

A massive blast of energy exploded from his shield and slammed into Sakuyamon, throwing her backwards. "I can't believe this!" she shouted,"This stinks!" She finally crashed into a large red boulder and fell to the ground. She slowly got to her feet, but found that Gallantmon was right in front of her. He had picked up his lance and was now pointing it directly at her face.

"This is the end, Sakuyamon," he said, raising the lance into the air,"Justice will be served!" He slashed his down.

"Don't do it, Takato!" Jeri shouted.

Gallantmon's lance missed Sakuyamon totally and it slammed into the ground beside her. The knight turned to stare at the brunette. "What do you mean?" he gasped,"Jeri, she betrayed us all! She almost killed Mr. Kamiya! She deserves this!"

"No she doesn't," Jeri said, almost sobbing,"Don't..don't kill her, please, don't...don't become like her..."

Sakuyamon slowly rose to her feet and stared at her. "I..I don't understand. After everything that I've done, you..you don't want me to be hurt?"

Jeri sniffed. "You made a mistake, that's all. Everyone deserves a chance to change their mistakes."

Sakuyamon stared at her for a long time. "I thought that strength and power was all that mattered. That a person, a digimon's, worth was measured with how strong they are, but...but now I know, people are measured by how big their hearts are. Jeri, despite all the power I have, you'll always be stronger then me."

She suddenly moaned, and her entire body was covered in a bright yellow light. When it faded, Rika and Renamon were both lying on the ground, unconscious. Gallantmon soon followed them, returning to Takato and Guilmon.

The goggle wearing Tamer walked over to Jeri,"I...I'm sorry for scaring you.."

Jeri looked to him with tears in her eyes,"I'm the one who should be apologizing. You wouldn't have fought her if it weren't for me. I'm so useless, why do you even still try to be my friend?"

Takato tried to think of an explanation, but he was cut off when the other Tamers ran over to them. "Guys!" Jenrya shouted,"We've got a problem!"

"What?" Takato asked, then noticed that Snow Agumon, Agumon and Gatomon were by themselves.. "Where are Kasumi, and Mr. Kamiya?"

The small white digimon panted. "Hakkado took them, with Miki and Kasumi!"

"What?" Takato shouted,"Where?"

Alice spoke. "I assume that he took them to where the D-Reaper is sealed."

Takato nodded. "Well, we've just got to go after them."

Kazu crossed his arms, then mentioned to the unconscious Rika and Renamon. "What about them?" he asked, disgust in his voice.

Takato looked at them, then at Jeri. "We'll just have to bring them."

"What?" Kazu snapped,"What if they attack us when we're asleep or something?"

"They're coming," Takato said,"And you're carrying Rika. Guardromon can take Renamon."

Kazu was about to protest, but thought better of it. He grumbled to himself as he lifted her up. "Let's just find Mr. Kamiya."

Lopmon shivered. "I think we've got a bigger problem right now."

"What?" Jenrya asked.

"_He's_ coming."

"Who?" Ai asked.

"The Sovereign."

"Here!" Kazu gasped,"Zhuqiaomon's coming here?"

"Correct!" a voice boomed from the sky,"I _am_ here! Hah ha ha!"

The Tamers spun around and saw the phoenix guardian flying towards them. "Prepare to meet your end, human scum! Phoenix Fire!"

"Get down!" Jenrya shouted. Everyone fell to their stomachs with their hands covering the backs of their heads. They dove just at the right second as Zhuqiaomon's attack missed, but exploded on the ground directly in front of them. The force sent them tumbling backwards and into one of the many boulders that were now surrounding the area.

"Oh man, that hurt!" Mako moaned.

Zhuqiaomon shot over their heads and turned around. "He's coming back!" Takato shouted,"We've got to run!" He grabbed Jeri's arm and started pulling her. The others soon followed, but when the goggle-wearing Tamer looked over his shoulder, he noticed that Rika and Renamon were still lying on the ground. "Kazu!" he shouted,"Get Rika!"

The visor-wearing Tamer mumbled an obscenity, then grabbed the orange haired girl while Guardromon grabbed the fox digimon. They soon joined the others as they ran from the in-coming attack. "You think you can run from me?" Zhuqiaomon laughed,"Sonic Zephyr!"

A supreme blast of wind attacked the Tamers from behind and sent them shooting forward like a slingshot. As they were tumbling around in the air, they noticed they were heading straight for a mound of jagged red rocks. "We're dead!" Kazu shouted,"Dead, dead, dead!"

"You're not helping!" Alice shouted.

Ryo nodded slightly at Cyberdramon. The dragon pointed his palms at the rocks. "Desolation Claw!" His attack obliterated the rocks into a pile of tiny pebbles and the group crashed into them. They were injured, but not as badly as they would have if they slammed into the shards.

"This is getting annoying!" Takato sighed, rubbing his arm.

The Sovereign chuckled as he hovered over them. "Prepare to meet your makers! Blazing Helix!"

The Tamers knew that there was nowhere to run, so they braced themselves for the impact. It never came, however, as a blue bolt appeared out of nowhere and deflected Zhuqiaomon's attack.

"Where did that come from?" Ai asked.

Mako brought his sister's attention to a giant glowing cloud in the sky. "There!" Everyone watched as the cloud slowly turned into a massive, nearly transparent dragon.

"Azulongmon!" Zhuqiaomon shouted,"What are you doing here?"

"Azulongmon?" Takato gasped,"Isn't that the one that Mr. Kamiya said he had some kind of deal with?"

"Hopefully he's here to help us!" Ryo shouted.

The dragon Sovereign stared at Zhuqiaomon. "Cease your attack."

"What! Why?"

"This is neither the time nor the place, Zhuqiaomon!" he boomed,"We have a far greater threat! The D-Reaper is about to be awakened!"

"I know!" Zhuqiaomon shouted back,"But once I destroyed these humans, that threat will be over!" He started flying towards them, but Azulongmon cut him off.

"Open your eyes, Zhuqiaomon!" he shouted,"These are not the humans that seek to awaken the True Enemy! We've got to work together to stop the true evil humans!"

"_All _humans are evil!" Zhuqiaomon responded,"Even if these are not the humans that seek to awaken the True Enemy, then there will be a few less humans to bother us after I destroy them!"

"Stop!"

"If you're so sure that they're not the evil ones, where are the ones that seek to awaken the True Enemy, huh?"

Azulongmon hesitated,"I...that is..."

"Ha!" the phoenix Sovereign laughed,"You think you're omniscient, don't you? That we should all bow down before Azulongmon and his wisdom; that you're right and I'm wrong! But you don't have any more idea of what to do than I! No, _I_ had enough foresight to transform the Catalyst into a digimon to hide it from the humans! And these humans brought it right back!"

"Zhuqiaomon, they did not know that it was the Catalyst. They were brought here against their will by the true evil human."

Back on the ground, the Tamers were using this pause in the battle to move themselves away from immediate danger. As they were running, Jenrya overheard the conversation between the two Sovereigns. "There's that term again, 'Catalyst,' are they really talking about Calumon?"

"Yes," Lopmon said,"When the evil humans arrived in this world and it was discovered they were searching for the D-Reaper, the Sovereign changed the Catalyst into a digimon."

"But what does the Catalyst do?"

"Why, it allows digimon to digivolve."

Takato nodded. "That's why Guilmon and the others were able to digivolve, because of Calumon!"

Above them, Zhuqiaomon hesitated. "No! I will not be distracted from my mission! These humans must be destroyed!"

"No!" Takato shouted,"You're wrong! We just want to save this world! Why can't you understand!"

"Please, Zhuqiaomon," Azulongmon said.

The Phoenix Sovereign stared at Azulongmon, then at the Tamers. "Oh, all right."

Azulongmon smiled slightly, then turned to the Tamers. "Greetings, humans. I am Azulongmon, the Sovereign of the East. Please, accept my apologies as to your treatment since you've arrived in our world."

Terriermon jumped onto Jenrya's head,"Well, you know, I'm not going to.."

"Terriermon, be quiet!" his partner shouted.

Azulongmon chuckled, then turned serious. "We must hurry and find the area where the D-Reaper is sealed before the evil humans do. But, tell me, where is Master Kamiya?"

Snow Agumon looked to the ground."He was taken by Hakkado, along with Kasumi and Miki."

"We've got to go," Zhuqiaomon said,"Before it's too late, but we don't have any idea where the D-Reaper is sealed."

Alice nervously spoke up. "A..actually, I might have an idea."

Azulongmon's eyes glowed slightly, and the next thing the Tamers knew, they were _inside_ of the dragon. "Tell me where to go," he said.

The blond girl just nodded. "S..sure."

Takato found Jeri sitting by herself. "Jeri, listen, none of this is your fault. It was just meant to happen."

The brunette just sniffled. "No, it is. I'm sorry I'm so weak. If I was stronger, none of this would have happened."

Takato tried to think of something to say. "Jeri, I'm sorry."

"""""""""""""""

Back on Earth, Tokyo was well aware that it was almost Christmas Day. Certainly, the Monster Makers and the command crew of Hypnos were aware as they decorated their small work areas. There was not too much celebrations, however, they knew that there was a group of children that were depending on them to bring them back.

Yamaki glanced around as he walked through the work area of the Monster Makers. "I don't want to disrupt your holiday celebrations, but how is the Ark coming along?"

"We're almost there," Babel said,"It should be ready within a few hours." He smiled slightly,"We'll get those kids home in time for Christmas."

Yamaki nodded."Good."

Across the city, the Matsuki's were busy decorating their Christmas tree. Mrs. Matsuki had placed a few wrapped boxes under the green plant for Takato. Her husband was busy in the bakery kitchen, creating a breadbasket filled with red bread in an odd shape. It was going to be a surprise for Guilmon, as a thank you for protecting their son. Takato's mother wanted her family to be together again on this special day, even if their newest addition was a digimon.

"""""""""""""""

In the Digital World, the Dark Master Digidestined of Tokyo was standing in front of large blue mountain, more specifically, in front of a section of the mountain that contained a circle of five smaller stone. He turned around to face his prisoners: Tai, Kasumi, Miki and Calumon, all four being held by the Dark Tamers. "This is it, you know," he said,"This is where the D-Reaper is." He grinned. "This is where an ultimate age of darkness begins!"

"Don't do it!" Kasumi shouted,"Please, you'll destroy both worlds!"

He chuckled. "That is not my plan! I will _control_ both worlds, with the D-Reaper as my ultimate weapon!"

"No!" Miki shouted,"You can't do this! I won't let you!"

"Oh really?" Hakkado chuckled,"And what are you going to do about it?"

Miki stared at him. "Just watch me!" Her body started to grow and change until it became the body of an adult woman. "I am Artemis, Digital Hunter!"

Kasumi's eyes were open wide, and Tai's would have been, had he been conscious. "You're Artemis!"

The Digital Hunter nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry, but I couldn't tell you."

The Kamiya daughter was trying to think of something to say, but did not have time as Artemis charged at Hakkado. "I'll stop you! I won't let you free D-Reaper!"

Hakkado just continued to grin as Black Wargreymon suddenly appeared from behind him and batted the huntress to the ground. He slammed his foot into her stomach, which sent her flying backwards and she landed next to Kasumi. She shivered for a second, then turned back into Miki. "Too strong," she panted,"He's just...too strong..."

Hakkado laughed. "If you're through, I believe I have an ultimate weapon to awaken." He turned around and faced the ring of stones. "Now, the first gate!" He mentioned to his two Dark Tamers, who walked over with their D-Arcs pointed at the circle.

"This first door will unlock with the energies of the five corporate computer executives..."

"That you murdered, you mean!" Kasumi sneered as Miki slowly rose to her feet.

Hakkado just shrugged. "To each her own." He watched as Barker and Lambert held their D-Arcs to the stone gate. Five streams of energy flowed out and into the five stones. The side of the mountain gave a small shake, then slowly slid apart, revealing a second door. This one was a massive block in the shape of a strange shellfish type creature.

"What is that?" Miki asked.

Lambert turned to her. "_That_ is a Zudomon, well, a stone statue of one anyway."

Hakkado grabbed Calumon from the ground and pointed him to the statue. "Now, the Catalyst will provide us with the key! Open the door!"

The small digimon started shivering. "I..I..I.."

"Do it, Calumon," Kasumi said.

"But, I don't know how!"

"Oh really?" Hakkado sneered,"Maybe _this_ will refresh your memory!" He threw Calumon towards the stone door with such force that the small digimon was going to be splattered across the door. However, as he screamed out in fear, the small triangle on his head glowed brightly. The stone statue of the Zudomon shrunk down into a much smaller figure, leaving a massive hole where the statue once stood.

The Dark Master Digidestined turned to the two human girls. "Now the Zudomon has digivolved into a Marine Angemon, leaving a perfect door for us to walk through."

"We're not going anywhere with you!" Kasumi protested.

Hakkado snapped his fingers, and his two Dark Tamers grabbed Kasumi and Miki, keeping them from moving. Hakkado, however, grabbed the unconscious Tai and brought him over to the third door, one that was split down the center, the left side white, and the right side dark. Each side had a palm print engraved onto it.

"Now, the key to unlock this final door! The handprints of two Digidestined Masters!" He grabbed Tai's palm and pressed it against the light side of the door, then placed his own on the dark side. The door shuttered, then slowly opened. Inside was a dark tunnel. The Dark Master Digidestined turned to the two girls,"Now, my ultimate prize!" He threw Tai to the ground, then walked inside. Barker and Lambert flung the two girls to the ground, then followed.

"Dad!" Kasumi shouted out, on instinct alone for she knew that he could not hear her. She quickly checked her father's wounds, and sighed with relief when she saw that his bandages were still in place. "Hang on, please," she said,"If anyone can fight death, it's you, Dad. Just hang on, please."

Miki gently lifted Calumon. "Are you all right?"

The small digimon coughed slightly,"Yeah, I..I'l be okay." His eyes floated over the blue-haired girl's head and to the sky. He saw Zhuqiaomon and Azulongmon flying towards them. A giant blue ball emerged from the blue dragon and shot towards the ground. "Look out!" he shouted.

The blue ball landed on the ground between the two girls and popped a second later, revealing the other Tamers. "I'm glad you guys are here," Kasumi sighed.

Takato's eyes drifted to his fallen teacher. His eyes flashed with anger,"Where's Hakkado?"

Kasumi pointed to the cave. "He went in there, with D-Reaper!"

"D-Reaper!" Zhuqiaomon shouted,"This is the day we have always feared!"

His fellow Sovereign nodded. "Yes, we must prepare ourselves for the battle against our greatest enemy."

The combined forces soon heard the familiar sounds of footsteps. They turned around and saw that the remaining Devas had joined them. They all bowed in front of Zhuqiaomon and Azulongmon. "Mighty Sovereigns," Indramon said,"We are here to serve you."

Chatsuramon spoke next. "Is this the day we have feared?"

"Yes," the phoenix answered,"Since the Dark Master Digidestined arrived five years ago, we have long prepared for this battle. It may be some time before we rest again, my loyal servants."

The group stared at the dark cavern. "Do we go in?" Jenrya asked.

As to answer him, the cavern shot out a bright flash of light, followed shortly by the Dark Master Digidestined Hakkado, his two Tamers, Barker and Lambert, and their digimon. This group of darkness slammed into the ground, their bodies covered with blood.

The Tamers stared in horror. Guilmon was hardly able to talk. "It...it _killed_ them! Just like that!"

Kazu started shaking. "I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid...oh, who am I kidding! I'm terrified!"

Alice fell to the ground. "I...I don't want to die!" She was surprised when Lopmon jumped in front of her.

"Don't worry. You don't have a digimon, so I'll protect you."

Takato glared at the cave, then over his shoulder to where Jeri and the unconscious Rika and Renamon were lying. He turned his gaze to the side where Kasumi and Snow Agumon were standing in front of Tai. "Kasumi, bring your father and Agumon and Gatomon behind that boulder over there." He turned to the brunette,"Jeri, I want you to hide behind there. If the D-Reaper gets past us, run, got it?"

Jeri kept staring at the ground, but did as she was told and hid behind the boulder. Takato brought Rika behind there, while Guilmon did the same to Renamon. Then the Tamer and his partner ran back to the stand in the front line. They were just in time to fell the ground shake below them.

"It's coming!" Zhuqiaomon roared,"I can feel the chaos it brings!"

"Guys," Jenrya said,"Did any of us stop to think how we're actually going to beat this guy?"

"We'll try our best as usual!" Terriermon cheered,"But, maybe we should digivolve."

The Tamers all nodded at each other. They each grabbed a card at random, which turned totally blue in the moonlight. "Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution Activate!"

**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**

"Guilmon matrix digivolve to..Wargrowlmon!"

"Terriermon matrix digivolve to...Rapidmon!"

"Snow Agumon digivolve to..Veedramon!"

"Impmon digivolve to..Ice Devimon!"

The trio of digivolved digimon stared grimly at the dark cavern. For a long moment, nothing happened, but soon the combined forces could make out a figure emerging from the darkness. The Tamers and their digimon had had an image in their mind of what a world destroyer would look like, but the true D-Reaper was almost completely opposite. It was distinctly human in form, not a massive bodybuilder physique, but a smaller, thinner form, covered in red skin. Its face was that of a young man, and so the group surmised that it must be male.

The digimon all prepared themselves to attack, but the D-Reaper simply raised his hand. A wave of force exploded from his palm, throwing the semi-circle of Tamers and digimon onto their backs.

"It's too powerful!" Zhuqiaomon shouted.

"No!" Azulongmon replied,"Legends say the D-Reaper has the power to destroy the Digital World with a wave of his hands! He should have been able to kill all of us, but we're still very much alive. He must have weakened from his captivity! We've got to try all together. Everyone, attack, now!"

Wargrowlmon: "Radiation Blade Attack!"

Rapidmon:"Rapid Fire!"

Guardromon:"Guardian Barrage!"

Cyberdramon:"Desolation Claw!"

Ice Devimon: "Avalanche!"

Migiramon: "Blazing Arrowheads!"

Makuramon: "Primal Orb!"

Chatsuramon. "Howl of the Heavens!"

Indramon: "Horn of Desolation!"

Zhuqiaomon: "Blazing Helix!"

Azulongmon: "Aurora Force!"

The combined attacks all joined together and created a beam of intense light. This arrow of hope pierced through the D-Reaper's body, causing him to explode apart, sending small balls of red across the area.

The group was too busy shielding themselves, or they would have noticed one lone piece land behind the protective boulder, more specifically, at Jeri's feet. She reached down and lifted it up in the palm of her hand.

_"You are weak, but you wish to be strong"_

The brunette's eyes opened wide. "D-did you just...talk to me?"

"_Yes, you are weak because you are not a Tamer You wish to have a digimon for a partner, do you not?"_

Jeri just nodded."Y..yes."

_"I can give you something even better then a digimon I can give you power beyond anything you think of Accept me, and I will never let anyone use you again!"_

Jeri just stared at the small red ball. "I...I..."

Back on the battlefield, the Tamers and the digimon suddenly became aware that the D-Reaper was gone. They had seemingly won.

Azulongmon chuckled slightly. "I would say they did pretty well, wouldn't you, Zhuqiaomon?"

The phoenix turned to the dragon. "They did all right..for humans," he quickly added..

Kazu breathed a sigh of relief. "That was easy."

"Yeah," Jenrya said, rubbing his chin,"A little _too_ easy."

"Something wrong?" Takato asked, a smile on his face,"We just beat the greatest being in the Digital World! This is a time to celebrate."

Jenrya stared at him, then smiled. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Takato was about to respond, when he noticed that his pants pocket was glowing. He pulled out the Hypnos communication device. "Hey, there's a new message from Mr. Yamaki."

"What does it say?" the other boy asked.

A smile slowly broke over the goggle-wearing Tamer's face. "They're sending a ship to take us home!" He turned to the others,"Guys! We're going home!"

Kazu looked at his watch. "Wow, just in time for morning."

Takato read from Yamaki's e-mail."They're sending the ship to the center of the desert regions in forty minutes.. wait, how do we get there?"

Azulongmon answered him by sending a large blue ball to the ground. "Enter here and it will take you to the area. It is my gift to you."

The ground suddenly started to shake again and fissure tore the rocky floor apart. Gysers of red water shot into the sky. "What's going on?" Ryo asked.

"The Chaos!" Zhuqiaomon gasped,"It's the D-Reaper!"

"The D-Reaper?" Kazu gasped,"Oh man! I thought we beat it!"

The phoenix Sovereign shuttered. "It is just as the legends say, every part of the D-Reaper is alive. If even a small piece of it survives, it lives."

"We've got to fight it!" Takato shouted.

"No!" Zhuqiaomon shouted,"This is not your fight."

"What?" Jenrya asked,"It's not our fight? But...humans are the ones that unleashed it."

Azulongmon shook his head. "I agree with Zhuqiaomon, the D-Reaper is a _digital_ creation, one that should have been destroyed when it first appeared in this world, instead of sealed away. Our ancestors created this problem, and we will finish it. Quickly, escape while you can."

"Let's get my father!" Kasumi shouted, running behind the rock. Kazu, Takato, Jenrya and their digimon followed. Kazu was about to grab Rika, when the Digimon Queen slowly sat up.

"Oh, you're awake," he said, disgust dripping from every word.

The redheaded girl stared at the ground. "You should just leave me here."

Kazu was about to agree, but Takato caught a glimpse of Jeri. "Rika, all of our parents are going to be waiting for us. Don't you want to see your mother again?"

She stared at the ground. "Y..yeah, I..I want to go home."

Takato mentioned to Kazu and Jenrya to carry Tai, while he turned to Jeri. "Come on, we're going home."

Zhuqiaomon waited until the group was together again before speaking. "You digimon that chosen human partners, I still detest you and feel that your actions are an abomination. However, I will respect your choice. Lopmon, I want you to go with the humans, maybe my hate comes from ignorance. Maybe through Lopmon, you can teach me."

The small chocolate dog/bunny bowed. "Your wisdom is beyond words, my Sovereign."

Azulongmon spoke next. "Calumon, you are still the Catalyst of Digivolution, but you are now a living being, and you have the choice. You can return as our Catalyst, or you can remain with the humans as a Digimon if you wish."

Calumon nodded. "You don't even need to ask! I'm staying with my friends."

The earthquakes started to increase in intensity. "You had better leave," Azulongmon said,"Go before it is too late. I thank you for all that you have done, but this battle is ours."

The Tamers climbed into the bubble and it shot across the Digital World. It soon landed in the center of the desert, next to an oddly shaped craft. Strangely, the wind had picked up and the ground was shaking. "The D-Reaper is attacking every part of the Digital World!" Alice exclaimed.

"Hey, that ship sort of looks like our D-Arcs," Mako pointed out.

"Never mind that now," Takato said,"Everyone inside, hurry up."

Kazu and Jenrya gently placed Tai inside, soon followed by the rest of the group. When Cyberdramon stepped inside, he shrunk down to a smaller, gray dinosaur type creature. "M..Monodramon!" Ryo gasped,"Wow, it's been a while."

The ship started to move up the tracks of light in front of it. Takato leaned back against the wall and let out a sigh of relief. He glanced at Jeri, then his smile faded. He was going to say something, when he heard Kasumi talking to her father.

"Just hang on Dad, we're almost there."

""""""""""""""""

Back on Earth, Yamaki and Wong were inside of the Hypnos control room, staring at a small image of the ship climbing up the glowing tracks. The older man smiled. "Don't worry Jenrya, you'll be back home soon."

The Hypnos commander found himself smiling. "I'll have you back soon, Miki."

The glowing image of the arc suddenly ceased its movement. "It stopped!" Wong gasped.

"What happened?" Yamaki demanded.

"I..I don't know."

The Hypnos commander growled, then shot his head to the two women in the elevated chairs above them. "Get Babel, now!"

Inside of the Monster Maker's computer lab, the man in question was quickly checking his calculations on his computer screen. "Come on, baby, talk to me."

Yamaki's face suddenly appeared on the computer monitor. "Babel, what's going on?"

"I don't know. Everything was going fine, until the ship suddenly stopped. This shouldn't have happened."

"The Ark core system," Yamaki said,"You used the same program as the Digimon, right? It is possible that the Arc has become self-aware?"

Babel shook his head. "It was a very basic program, it was the only way I could get the Ark to move, but it shouldn't have caused it to develop artificial intelligence. There's got to be a glitch somewhere."

In the Digital World, the ark suddenly shook violently. "What was that?" Alice gasped.

"Turbulence?" Jenrya asked.

"No!" Kazu shouted,"Look at the end of the ship. It's..It's disappearing!" Sure enough, the back of the ship was slowly dissolving into nothingness.

"The D-Reaper!" Terrierimon gasped,"It's not gonna let us leave!"

"No!" Takato said,"We'll make it, the ship's still moving and..." Just as he spoke those words, the ark came to a halt.

"Damn it!" he shouted.

"Takato!" Kasumi called,"Dad's wound is bleeding again! I..I don't think he's going to make it!"

Guilmon turned to his partner."Maybe we should ask the ark to move."

Takato was not sure what to do, but he then saw the tears in the girl's eyes. His face became determined, and he turned to face the glowing console of the ship. "Ark, listen to me, please. We've got to get back home, all of our parents are waiting for us. It's going to be Christmas Day soon, they're all expecting us. And...and Mr. Kamiya, he's hurt, really bad. He means so much to all of us, please, arc, we've got to get back home!"

The large ball on the console glowed for a second, then two wires emerged from it and connected to Takato's COM device. Words started to appear on the screen. "I WILL TRY."

The goggle-wearing Tamer smiled slightly. "Thanks."

"Hey," Kasumi gasped,"We're moving again."

Back in the Monster Maker's computer lab, Daisy and Curly gasped. "Hey, it's moving again," the Indian woman said.

The blond woman nodded. "Yes, but its trajectory has been altered. The point of bio-emergence is now in the middle of Shinjuku Park. Someone's got to inform the parents."

Curly nodded. "I'll inform them."

""""""""""""

The Tamers were all hugging each other tightly as the Ark shot through the digital sky. Kazu held on tightly as he spoke. "Ark, if you get us out of this, I swear, every weekened, I will wash you, vacuum your insides, detail you. Anything, just get us home!"

"That's not helping!" Kasumi shouted.

In the center of Shinjuku Park, a large fraction of the Hypnos crew was waiting with the parents and family members of the Tamers. Yamaki and Wong were in the center of the crowd, staring at the large lake in the pond. The water suddenly shot into the sky, forming a geyser in an area that should never have been able to form one. Wong turned to Yamaki. "That is..normal, right?"

"That depends on your definition."

The geyser suddenly died down as a large ship broke through the water. It shot forth an intense white light that blinded the people. The crowd just stared as they made out a group of figures walking towards them. The Tamers had returned.

Takato was first, followed closely by Guilmon. Jenrya and Kazu were behind him, carrying Tai between the both of them. Guardromon came next, carrying Agumon and Gatomon in his arms, while Terriermon rested on his metal shoulders. Kasumi and Snow Agumon were right behind the metal digimon. Next came Jeri, Alice, with Calumon on her shoulder and Lopmon in her arms. Ai, Mako and Impmon were next. Ryo, Monodramon and Miki followed afterwards, with Rika and Renamon in the rear.

The Tamers stared at their family and friends for a few seconds, before they could not take it anymore. They charged forward and they met with an embrace of hugs and kisses.

Mrs. Matsuki had tears following down her face as she hugged her son. "Don't you ever do that again! I was so worried."

Mr. Matsuki tried to pry his wife away from their son before she suffocated him. "Now, dear, he didn't have a choice."

Jenrya was greeted by his mother and father. Like Takato's mother, Mrs. Wong could not be pulled away from her son. Mr. Wong just smiled. "Son, I'm very proud of you."

Miki hugged her father tightly as Yamaki lightly rubbed her daughter's head. He smiled at Ryo and Monodramon as they bowed before him. "I'm glad that you're safe," Yamaki said.

Ryo was about to respond, when he looked over the Hypnos commander's shoulder to where Tai was being strapped to a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. Miss Isage, Kasumi and Snow Agumon jumped inside afterwards. Yamaki noticed that Ryo was looking over his shoulder, so he turned around just in time to watch the ambulance drive off.

"Is there anything you can do?" Ryo asked.

Yamaki turned back around and smiled slightly. "Hypnos will be footing the hospital bill. I figure, it's the least I can do."

"Commander," Riley said, running up to him,"I've finally located Jeri Katou's parents, they're staying with relatives out of town."

"When will they be here?" he asked.

Riley sighed as she looked to the ground. "That's the thing, they won't. Her father said that she got into this on her own, and she can get out of it on her own." The brown haired woman turned to where Jeri was sitting on the park bench, wrapped in a blanket. "I could take her, but, not to be with anyone she knows, especially so close to Christmas..."

"I'll take her!" Takato suddenly spoke up,"I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" Yamaki asked,"You just got back."

"Takato," Mrs. Matsuki said,"I think that you really should come home.." Her husband placed his hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Let him go. It's okay."

"Dear, are you sure?"

Mr. Matsuki nodded. "Yeah, it's a guy thing, you probably wouldn't understand."

Mrs. Matuki just stared at her husband, then nodded. "I think I understand. All right, Takato, go ahead."

Yamaki nodded. "Okay, I'll arrange for a private cab, this way your partner won't attract any unwanted attention."

Sure enough, an hour later, Takato found himself in a private cab, alone with Jeri, Guilmon, and Calumon-who had insisted on coming with them. The two digimon had finished their small lunchboxes, and were now fast asleep. He smiled slightly as Guilmon snored, but it faded when he noticed Jeri's depressed look as she stared at her lunchbox. "Jeri, you didn't eat anything."

When she didn't answer, Takato sighed. "Jeri, you were always so cheerful, so happy, but.." He sighed again,"...then Hakkado kidnapped you, then Rika used you to make me fight. I know you think that everything that happened was all your fault, but it's not! Jeri, I don't care that you're not strong, I would have done anything to protect you, and..." He stopped himself, and stared at the floor.

"What I mean is...well, I..I like you Jeri.._a lot_, and well, I always hoped that, you know, you might, _kinda_ like me, the way that..I...like...you.." He suddenly shot up to stare at her, his face beat red. "I mean...it's not like you're always on my mind, 'cause you are! I.." He sighed once more, then rose to his feet and walked down the isle.

"You're so sad now, I just wish I could make you happy again. It's like..something's missing inside of you. And..and it's _my_ fault. If I had just fought Rika at the beginning, she wouldn't have used you like that, and..you'd be smiling right now! Laughing like you always did." He was surprise to find that he was crying,"Jeri, I just wish you would smile!"

About an hour later, Takato, and the two digimon were supporting Jeri as they walked out of the train station. They found a taxicab waiting outside with a man standing beside it. "Look Jeri," Takato pointed,"There's your dad."

When they reached the street, Takato bowed."Hello, Mr. Katou."

He did not reply as he grabbed Jeri by the arm and yanked her over. He shoved her into the taxicab and slammed the door after he got inside. As the cab sped away, Takato and Guilmon were aware that Calumon was not with them. They looked back to the taxicab, and saw that the small digimon was hiding inside the yellow car. The goggle-wearing Tamer smiled slightly. "Good Calumon, stay with her."

He sighed slightly, the turned to Guilmon,"Come on, let's go home." He smiled,"It's a new day."

Inside of a hospital room in downtown Tokyo, Kasumi and Miss Isage were standing watching over the sleeping Tai. The doctors were able to use a series of metal clippings to close the Master Digidestined's wounds. He would heal completely in a few days, something that both young women were thankful of.

As the older woman slept, Kasumi took a moment to look out the hospital window onto the city. It had begun to snow slightly, but that was not what caught her attention. It appeared that some of the snow was floating to the sky! Upon closer examinations, she discovered that it was not white, but red. And it was not floating to the sky, but move like slowly bubbling upwards.

"No," she said,"The D-Reaper! It's..it's here!"

to be continued...

The Book of Warriors is over! The Book of Apocalypse now begins!


	14. Apocalypse: Chapter 1

**December 22, 2015**

**Apocalypse**

**Chapter 1**

Takato's mouth was wide open as he stared at the image on the television screen. He was still in the train station, waiting for the next monorail to take him back home, when he decided to find a television to watch the news. What he saw caused his spine to turn to ice: an aerial view of Tokyo, with giant red bubbles floating to the sky. The goggle-wearing Tamer took a few deep breaths to keep himself from passing out. "The D-Reaper! It's...it's here!"

In the seat next to him, Guilmon's eyes were wide open in complete shock. "But h..how did it get here?"

Takato shook his head. "I don't know. We must have brought it here, and not even known! This is our fault, Guilmon, it has to be!"

The red dinosaur turned to his partner. "What are we going to do, Takato?"

Takato took a deep breath, and then jumped to his feet. "We've got to get back to Tokyo, now!"

""""""""""""""""""""""

Back in East Matsumoto, Calumon cheerfully ran across the floor, laughing as he was being chased by Jeri's younger brother. Masahiko giggled as he ran after the small digimon, trying desperately to catch him. Eventually he moved close enough to try and jump for it. Unfortunately, he slipped and slammed into the hard wooden floor. He slowly sat up and started crying.

Calumon quickly ran back over to him as Mrs. Katou knelt beside him. "Are you okay?"

He sniffled. "I..I.."

The small white digimon's ears retracted into his head. "He fell down."

The trio suddenly became aware that Jeri was standing over them, dressed in a simple white dress and green sweater. She stared down at her younger brother and her step-mother. "Jeri!" Mrs. Katou gasped,"Are you looking for the bathroom?" She pointed down the hall,"It's down there."

Jeri ignored her as she walked over to Masahiko. She leaned over him and stared into his eyes. "Fall down, fall down, falldown, falldownfalldownfalldown!" she started repeating quickly.

The young boy started crying again. "Mom, Jeri's scary!"

"Jeri," Mrs. Katou said,"I..I think you're hurting him. Maybe you should let him go, okay? Please?"

Jeri did as she was told, then stared at her step-mother, giving her an evil grin.

Down below, Calumon stared up at her. "Jeri, what's wrong with you?"

""""""""""""""""""""""

Back in Tokyo, Yamaki and Wong stood atop the roof of the Hypnos building, staring out at the red bubbles emerging from the heart of the city. The red balls were appearing from everywhere, yet no one was able to discover a source for the chaos. As a safety precaution, the mayor had ordered the streets closed and the army had set up along the streets. It still would not do any good; the military had no idea what they were up against. Neither did Hypnos for that matter.

"What can this possibly be, Jonyu?" Yamaki asked.

"I had no idea, I've never seen anything like this before," the other man sighed,"It's like the city is a pot of boiling water. We've got to figure what this is."

"It's the D-Reaper."

The two men twirled around and saw Ryo and Miki walking towards them. "What do you mean it's the D-Reaper?" Yamaki asked.

"Just like we said, Dad," Miki answered.

"We saw the D-Reaper in the Digital World," Ryo continued,"I don't know if it is intentional or not, but those bubbles appeared when the D-Reaper did."

"D-Reaper's somewhere in the city?" Wong asked, "How...how did it get here?"

Ryo and Miki looked at each other nervously. "What?" Yamaki asked.

The Digital Hunter Orion sighed. "Miki and I think we might have brought it back with us somehow."

"How?" Wong gasped,"How could that have happened?"

Both Digital Hunters shook their heads. "We have no idea."

Yamaki sighed as he turned to face the city. "D-Reaper, huh? Well, it's not getting this city without a fight."

""""""""""""""""""

Back in East Matsumoto, Masahiko was playing with his toy trucks. His mother walked over to him. "Masahiko, have you seen Jeri?"

He just pointed to a dark hall. "She's in there?"

Mrs. Katou stared at him. "The laundry room?"

He nodded.

She walked to the hall's entrance. "Jeri? Jeri, are you down there?"

There was no response.

Mrs. Katou tried to sound authoritative, but it came out sounding nervous and un-easy. "Jeri, if this is a game, I'm...I'm going to be very upset with you."

There was still no answer. She flicked the switch, turning the light on. However, the room was completely empty. "Jeri, where are you?"

""""""""""""

'Jeri', or rather, the being pretending to be Jeri, was not in East Matsumoto, she was not even in Japan. She was half a world away, watching a battle between two opposing armies in a region covered with sand.

She stood on a rocky ridge, watching the war occurring below her. It was a bloodbath, hundreds of men and women were being killed "These humans are stubborn creatures. They would rather kill one another then reach an agreement in an argument. More data is needed."

"""""""

Back in Tokyo, families everywhere was glued to their television, watching the news reports of the red bubbles that were floating to the sky. Their lives could be in danger at any second, and they were going to be prepared if they had to flee their homes. One of these families was Rika's.

Rika was seated, leaning on her knees as she was intensively watching the news footage. Renamon was standing right behind her. "The D-Reaper has followed us here."

"I know," the red-headed girl said,"But how? How did it break through the barrier? If someone as powerful as the Sovereigns couldn't break through how could the D-Reaper?"

"I'm afraid that we must have brought it back with us," the fox woman sighed.

Rika took a deep breath. "What do we do about it?"

Renamon shivered slightly. "Right now, I don't think there's anything that we _can_ do. We just have to wait and see. I know it's hard, but we have to wait."

Rika just nodded. There was a silence for a few minutes before Rika cleared her throat. "Renamon?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think the others are going to be there?"

The fox just nodded. "Yes."

"Do you think they'll ever forgive us?"

"I don't know."

Rika looked to the ground. "That's what I thought."

In the kitchen behind them, Rumiko and Rika's grandmother were spying on the Tamer and digimon. "At least she's safe," Rika's grandmother said.

The supermodel shook her head. "No, something's wrong, I can feel it. Something happened to her, and she's not ready to talk about it."

Rika's grandmother smiled. "Why, Rumiko, I don't think I've ever heard you say something like that."

Her daughter turned and smiled at her. "Well, Mom, I guess it was just time to listen to my heart."

The older woman placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Maybe it's time you did what it told you."

Rumiko smiled slightly, then took a deep breath and walked into the living room. "Rika?"

"Yeah, Mom?" she asked, turning to face her.

"Is..is there anything the matter? You seem so…different since you came back. Did anything happen?"

Rika hesitated for a long time, and then turned to her partner. "Renamon?"

"You need to do what your heart tells you to," the fox said. "I'll give you two some time alone." She vanished.

"Where did she go?" Rumiko asked,"She didn't have to leave!"

"It's okay, Mom," Rika said,"She'll be back."

"Oh, so, is there anything you want to tell me?"

Rika took a few deep breaths, then said, "Mom, suppose there was a person who was different, and this person found another group of people just like him/her, but this person did something bad, really bad to that group. Would you forgive that person, or would you hate him/her for the rest of your life, even though that person was really sorry for what happened?"

Rumiko took a few seconds to take all of it. She wanted to scream at her daughter, demanding to know what she had done, but held her tongue back. "Well, first I'd want to know if anyone was hurt because of this."

Rika shook her head,"No one's dead, if that's what you mean, but some people were really hurt, emotionally, I mean."

Rumiko nodded. "Okay, well, if there was only emotional damage done, then I'd have to say,..I don't know. I guess I would forgive that person because I really don't know what happened, but if that person wants forgiveness, I think she…she/he, should seek it from the people that were hurt."

Rika nodded. "That's what I thought you would say."

"Sorry I wasn't much help."

Rika smiled at her. "Actually, thanks for being here for me."

Rumiko hugged her daughter, "I always will be."

"""""""""""""""""

In the center of the city, the Hypnos's armored van was parked along a street corner. Inside, the Monster Makers were busily using their equipment to examine the rouge program that was infecting their city.

"Hey, Daisy!" Babel shouted,"Do you have that energy analysis yet?"

"Coming right up," the blond woman answered, as she wheeled her chair through the small van. She handed him a set a disks,"It's on here."

"Thanks." He shoved it into the floppy drive,"Let's see what this thing can do."

As they continued working, Tally turned around from where she was in the driver's seat. "You guys should hurry. I don't know how much longer the military is going to let us stay out here."

"I thought Hypnos was part of the army?" Curly asked.

Tally sighed. "There's some bad blood between us. It's a long story. By the way, where's Mr. Wong?"

"He's back at Hypnos," Babel said,"He wanted to meet with Dolphin's grandaughter."

""""""""""""""

Alice and Lopmon were staring up in awe at the dome-shaped ceiling of Hypnos's command room. "This is amazing!"

Yamaki chuckled slightly behind her. "That's what everyone says."

The small digimon trailed behind the blond girl. "I never knew that humans could do something like this."

Alice glanced up where she saw Riley on her elevated chair, then back to the Hypnos commander. "Where's Dr.Wong?"

"He'll be here in a minute. He's on the telephone."

A few floors down, Wong was indeed on the telephone, talking to his son. "Jenrya?"

"Yeah, Dad?"

"Listen, I know that you're probably very tempted to go out and play the hero, but I want you to stay inside and let us handle this."

"Dad, I..."

"Jenrya, this is very important to me. Please."

"A..all right Dad. I..I'll stay here."

Wong breathed a deep sigh of relief. "That's such a load off my mind. Tell your mother I'll be home as soon as I can. See you later. Bye."

"""""""""""

'Jeri' was now in a city filled with ancient buildings, which were being destroyed under a squadron of tanks. "More war and destruction," Jeri said,"Even under the guise of good intentions, humans will force their own beliefs on others. They will attack because of what they believe to be correct and good."

Kasumi and Snow Agumon were standing next to the window in her father's hospital room, staring out at the city below them. The red bubbles were quickly growing in intensity. Tai's daughter turned to her partner. "It's getting worse."

The white dinosaur nodded. "Yeah, we've got to do something."

Kasumi nodded. "Yeah, come on."

The two girls turned around and were about to run out of the hospital room, but found that Nami was standing in the doorway. They stared at each other for a few minutes before the older woman took a deep breath. "So, you're leaving?"

Kasumi nodded slowly. "Yeah." She turned to where her father was lying on the bed, still asleep. "I'm his daughter. I just feel that..since _he_ can't be there, I have to. I don't know, it's like...like..well, I really don't know what it's like. But I do know that I _have_ to be there."

She looked up to the older woman, to find that she was crying slightly. "I'm not your mother, I can't stop you, but..please come back."

Kasumi nodded and hugged her. "Dad's been alone for such a long time; I hope you don't leave, now that you know about all of this."

Nami smiled slightly, despite the fact that she was crying. "If I was going to leave, I wouldn't be here right now."

Kasumi bowed. "I'll be back, don't worry."

Nami sniffiled as the teenager ran down the hospital hallway. "Good luck."

"She left, didn't she?"

The older woman spun around and was shocked to find that Tai was sitting up in his bed, fully awake. "Tai, you're awake!"

He nodded. "Yeah." He turned to look out the window,"So, the D-Reaper's here." He sighed,"Kasumi will do fine, so will the others."

Nami was shocked. "You're not going to help them?"

Tai smiled. "Of course I am, but I think _we_ need help. Can you tell the front desk I'm leaving?"

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Yamaki and I need to have a chat."

""""""""""""""""

At the Wongs' apartment, Jenrya was in his living room, about to ask his mother the hardest thing he ever had to ask. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked.

Jenrya hesitated for a second, and then sighed. "I don't know how to start, so I'm just going to come right out and say it. The others are going to be out there. I know that Takato's there, and I'm pretty sure that Kasumi and Kazu will be out there and.."

"..and you want to go out there, too."

Jenrya nodded slightly. "Yes."

"And since you promised your father you wouldn't, you want me to say its okay."

Jenrya nodded. "Yes."

His mother looked in his eyes and started crying. "You don't have to, you know. You don't have to go out there and risk your life."

"But Mom, Terriermon and I can help, and if people get killed because I didn't act, I don't know how I would be able to take it." He hesitated for a few minutes before speaking again. "I feel that Terriermon and I were brought together for a reason, and I think this is it. We are here to stop this thing. Mom, I need to."

"Then go," she sniffled, crying into her hands.

Jenrya wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything. He jumped up and ran over to the door. He heard his mother started sobbing louder. He stopped short and turned around. "I'll be back, Mom, don't worry."

She was crying so loudly she did not hear him leave.

""""""""""""""""""""""

"Jeri' was now hidden inside of a building filled with representatives from all nations of the world. They were arguing over various issues. "Even when these humans discuss in peaceful negotiations, they still loathe and hate one another. Humanity is selfish, violent, and self-destructive. The only possible course of action, total annilation. All humans must die."

"""""""""""

Takato had finally made it back to Tokyo. He and Guilmon had to dodge their way though clusters of soldiers before finally making it to the center of the city, where the bubbles of chaos were starting to grow in intensity. The Tamer and his partner were now pressed firmly up against a building, slowly peering around the corner to examine the bubbles hovering over the city. "Where are they coming from?" he asked,"They're just..there!"

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Takato instantly froze, thinking the army had caught up to him. He slowly turned around, but saw Jenrya and Terriermon smiling at him.

"You jerk!" Takato shouted,"You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Jenrya smiled slightly."How long have you been here?"

"I just got back," Takato panted,"Are you here alone?"

The black-haired teenager moved aside so Takato could see two younger children, a boy and a girl, with a devilish creature at their feet. "Ai and Mako!" he smiled,"What are you two doing here?"

"We're here to help, what'da ya' think?" Impmon asked.

"Well, they are kinda young, but I don't want to start sounding like the adults."

The group turned around and saw Kasumi, Kazu, their digimon, and Miki standing in front of them. "Kasumi!" Takato gasped,"How's Mr. Kamiya?"

The teenage girl sighed slightly. "When I left, he was still unconscious. I hope he'll be all right."

"I'm sure he will," Heny said.

The group was silent for a few minutes before Kazu spoke up. "So, what do we do now?"

Takato mentioned to the ally he was just looking down a second ago. "Those Chaos bubbles are starting to appear faster. We've got to figure out where they're coming from, or where the D-Reaper really is and.."

"Takato!" Ai shouted, pointing at the bubbles,"Look!"

The goggle-wearing Tamer spun around and joined the others in a gasp as the bubbles started to hover towards them. The Chaos quickly picked up speed as the bubbles twisted and changed into red humanoid figures. "I think it knows we're here!" Mako gasped.

Takato grabbed his D-Arc. "Digivolve!"

**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION**

"Guilmon matrix digivolve to Wargrowlmon!"

"Terriermon matrix digivovle to Rapidmon!"

"Impmon digivolve to Beelzemon!"

"Snow Agumon digivolve to Veedramon!"

Miki's body shifted and changed to Artemis, the Digital Hunter.

The transformed red bubbles slammed into the digimon with such force that it caused both sides to fly backwards and into the ground. The creatures were in the air before the digimon, but the forces of earth were able to make up for the delay. The fist battle between Earth and the D-Reaper had begun.

Wargrowlmon slashed his claw across one of the creatures, creating a massive claw mark along its red skin. To the dinosaur's horror, the scratched instantly healed.

"Oh no!" Takato gasped.

"This is going to be harder then we thought," Wargrowlmon muttered. He began to rapidly slash the red creatures, but again, every injury instantly healed.

The Ultimate digimon hovered in the air as he stared at the monstrosity in front of him. "If I can't tear you apart, I'll just have to blow you to bits! Radiation Blade Attack!"

His energy beam engulfed the strange creature and annihilated it. Wargrowlmon breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's how you kill these guys."

"Good job!" Takato shouted,"That's one down!"

The cyborg dinosaur sighed as he looked to where the other digimon were busy fighting the creatures. "Only about a dozen to go."

"""""""""""""""""""""

Unbeknownst to them, the creature posing as Jeri was resting on a building high above them, watching the battle intently. "These Tamers see themselves as the protectors of humanity. Even their digimon battle feverously to save this city. This does not make sense, digimon are alien to this world, yet they fight to save it. It does not make sense. Digimon must be annihilated as well."

She examined the locations of the different transformed bubbles in the city.. "A network connection is needed between the D-Reaper's agents and the D-Reaper's kernel of intelligence." She started to glance around the city until she focused on the skyscraper of the Hypnos building. "Acknowledged."

She jumped off of the roof and landed gracefully on the street. She walked a few blocks before rounding a corner and coming face-to-face with a street full of soldiers. Each military fighter was confused for a second as they stared at Jeri walking towards him.

"Hey!" one of the soldiers shouted to her,"Hey, kid! This street is off limits!"

She ignored them and continued to walk forward.

"Stop now!" the soldier shouted,"Stop!" He joined the other soldiers as they reached for their rifles.

"This is your last chance!"

Jeri stopped and stared at them. Her eyes glowed for a second, than an invisible explosion of energy sent the soldiers flying through nearby buildings. She continued down the street.

""""""""""""""""""

The doors to the Hypnos command room slid open and Tai, Agumon and Gatomon stepped inside. "Kamiya?" Yamaki gasped,"Aren't you suppose to be in the hospital?"

Tai slowly walked inside the room. "I was, but I took an early leave, heh."

Wong ran over and helped him over to a chair. "Are you sure that was wise?"

Tai panted. "Have you been outside lately? The D-Reaper's here! I can't be resting at a time like this."

Wong was going to protest again but Agumon and Gatomon cut him off. "He didn't listen to _us_ and we're his partners."

The Monster Maker just nodded. "Ah, yes."

Tai looked past Wong and Yamaki and smiled when he saw Alice and Lopmon standing behind them. "Hi, Alice. I see Lopmon's with you."

The small chocolate digimon bowed. "Yes, sir. I wanted to see this place."

Tai was going to answer, but alarms started to blast through the dome shaped ceiling. "What's going on?" he asked.

Yamaki mentioned to the ceiling, "Show him, Riley."

"Yes, sir." She pressed a few buttons and an image appeared on the screen, of a street a block away from the Hypnos building. A street that had a figure walking down the street.

"Jeri!" Tai gasped, jumping to his feet. He ignored the pain from his injury and ran over to get a closer look. "What's Jeri doing there?"

"That's not Jeri," Yamaki said,"Not unless she has psychic powers."

"Psychic Powers?" he gasped.

"You were her teacher," the Hypnos commander said,"Did she ever exhibit any type of telekinesis?"

"What do you mean?"

Yamaki sighed. "She sent an entire army squad flying into the air to get them out of her way."

Tai was in complete shock. "She..she never..."

"Sirs!" Riley shouted,"She preparing to engage the military stationed in front of this building."

"She's coming here!" Tai shouted.

"Yes, but we don't know why."

Tai's eyes were wide open as he watched the image on the monitor.

Outside, Jeri continued to walk towards Hypnos, ignoring the large military force in front of her. Tanks lined the entrance to the building and in front of them were dozens of soldiers, their rifles pointed directly at her. The senior officer shouted at her through a bull horn. "Stop! I repeat! Halt and drop to your feet."

Jeri ignored them and kept walking.

"Drop to the ground, _now!"_

She kept walking.

The commander sighed. "All right, let her have it! Fire!"

The soldiers started to fire their weapons at the being pretending to be a teenage girl. Despite the fact that nearly a dozen sets of bullets were being projected at her, she kept walking forward.

The soldiers noticed this and began to fire faster. It was still no use. They all stopped to stare at the creature that continued to march forward, not even her clothes showed any sign of having a dozen rifles fired at them.

The commander kept a clam head as he turned to a few soldiers with larger guns. "Maybe the tear gas will work. Fire!"

They began to fire rounds of tear gas at her, but they exploded a few inches in front of her, like she was encased in an invisible shield. The soldiers stared in complete awe as she continued her march until she was a few feet in front of the building and the blockade. She stopped and stood firmly in place as she stared at the military force.

The commander turned to the row of tanks. "Fire!"

Each tank fired a large missile at her. She simply held up her palm and the missiles stopped directly in front of her. She turned her palm around, with caused the missiles to point back at the military blockade. She raised her hand and threw it down, which sent one of the missiles soaring into the tank in the center. The metal vehicle exploded with such force that it not only sent the soldiers flying, but the row of tanks flipping over like a stack of dominos.

She raised her arm again and let it drop, sending the rest of the missiles through the glass doors of the Hypnos building and into the lobby. They impacted a few seconds later, sending an incredible amount of fire and smoke shooting out of the doorway. Jeri stood firmly still as she was engulfed by the inferno.

Near the very top was the command room and despite the fact of being that far up, they still felt the entire building shake. "Report!" Yamaki ordered.

"Sir!" Riley shouted,"The intruder has made it past the military blockade and has entered the building."

"What?" Yamaki gasped,"Where is she now?"

Riley pressed a few buttons,"She's moving to the third floor."

"The Hypnos core!" the commander gasped,"Riley, start download, immediately!"

"What's going on?" Wong asked.

"If she infects the core program, everything here is finished," he said. He ran over to small microphone on the desk in the corner. "This is Commander Yamaki. Escape this building at once! Repeat, get out now!"

"You're leaving?" Tai gasped, but Yamaki held up his hand as he continued to speak into the microphone.

"Orion, don't let her get any closer!" He put the microphone back down, and then looked up to Riley. "How much longer?"

"A few minutes...now! It's finished." She lowered her chair and jumped down, placing the cds into her pocket.

"How did you do that so fast?" Wong gasped.

"Latest military technology," Yamaki simply said,"Faster then anything you've ever seen before. Come on, we've got to get out of here."

On the third floor, the Jeri creature walked through the empty hallway towards a large metal door. Ryo and Monodramon suddenly jumped in front of it, a large gun in his hands. "Stop where you are!"

She ignored him and continued to march forward.

The Digital Hunter held up his large gun,"Alright, you asked for it. This is an electro-magnetic gun. It'll fry any digital system."

She still continued forward.

He pointed the gun right at her. "Take this!" He fired a small ball of white electricity at her. She stumbled backwards, the expression of pain obvious on her face.

"Hey, it worked," he smiled slightly. He was not able to get another shot it, however, as Jeri shot her palm forward, causing Ryo and his digimon to slam into the metal door. She quickened her pace to get over to the Digital Hunter and his partner before they were on their feet. The door slid open and she stepped inside, the door closing behind her.

"Damn!" Ryo got to his feet.

"We're in trouble, aren't we?" Monodromon asked.

Ryo picked him up and started running back down the hall."We're leaving."

Inside the room, Jeri stared up at the giant mass of machinery. "Hypnos core system," she smiled. She took a few steps forward and placed her hand on the machine.

Yamaki and the others suddenly became aware that the hall they were in started to shake. "What's going on?"

"Get in the room!"

They twirled around and saw Ryo and Monodramon charging towards them as a stream of red matter quickly covered the walls behind him. He forcefully pushed the group through the door and into the janitor's closet, slamming the door seconds before the red mass covered the hallway.

""""""""""""""""

Back at the battlefield, the Tamers and their digimon partners were successful in defeating their opponents. They were about to head towards the center of the city, when they suddenly became aware of a loud rumbling noise. They were able to identify the source as the Hypnos building, but when they turned to examine it, their eyes all shot open. To most of them, it was like watching a popcorn kernel pop as a gigantic red mass exploded from the third floor of the building and devoured everything except for the top two towers. This mass of red continued to grow until it has also managed to assimilate about a block of buildings and roads in all directions from its center.

"What the heck is that thing?" Kazu gasped.

Artemis quickly tapped her earpiece. "Hypnos command, this is Artemis, respond. I repeat, come in, Hypnos command." She sighed,"There's no answer."

"What happened there?" Kasumi gasped.

"It's like the entire place is covered in some kind of..of rising dough!" Wargrowlmon gasped. The other digimon turned to him, and he coughed slightly. "Takato took me to see his bakery, all right?"

"Look at its color!" Jenrya gasped,"Could that be the D-Reaper's real form?"

"Should we check it out?" Ai asked.

"I think we've got a bigger problem," Beelzemon gasped, "Something's coming this way!"

Everyone gasped as dozen of small, bird shaped creatures shot towards them from the red mass, each one connected to the, as Wargrowlmon put it, 'rising dough' with a long red cord. They stopped a few feet in front of the forces of Earth and stared at them.

"Um, what are they doing?" Rapidmon asked.

"Maybe a staring contest of some sort?" Guardromon suggested.

"Why don't we just get out of here?" Veedramon asked, "This is starting to creep me out."

"I agree with her," Takato said, "Let's just leave."

The group started to slowly back away when _another_ creature appeared from the red mass. Like the previous bird shape, this one was connected by way of a long red cord, but this looked nothing like a bird. It had resembled a small human with sickles for hands and razor blades in the shape of pendulums for feet, while its body was covered by a multicolored sheet. Its face was flat and an odd yellow and orange combination.

"I think we're in more trouble," Veedramon sighed.

Pendulum Feet shot towards them with its razor appendages spinning towards them. Wargrowlmon was first, screaming in pain as the creature's hands and feet tore across his body.

"Hang on buddy!" Rapidmon called, flying towards him, "I'm coming to the rescue! Tri-Beam!" Pendulum Feet dodged Rapidmon's energy attack, but that was not was caused the Ultimate digimon to gasp out in awe. It was when the creature moved its arms and legs into an exact copy of Rapidmon's pose and fired a beam of green energy, which Rapidmon barely dodged.

"That was my attack!" Rapidmon gasped, "It used my attack!"

"What is this thing?" Beelzemon asked.

"""""""""""""""""""

Rika had been quiet most of the day since returning home from the Digital World. Her ankle had healed, surprisingly, probably from merging with Renamon. It really did not do her any good, however, as she did not have anywhere to go with it. The only people, besides her family, that were ready to accept her probably hated her right now. She knew Renamon was there, but the fox had only done what she did because Rika needed her. The Digimon Queen was not a well loved ruler.

She was lazily flicking through the television when she came to a special bulletin on the news. The anchorman mentioned something about a developing news story near the center of Tokyo when the image changed to footage of the Tamer digimon battling against Pendulum Feet. "These digimon are currently engaging the enemy, but they do not seem to be able to handle it on their own."

Rika did not hear the rest of what he had to say as she was too concerned when the bird-shaped creatures wrapped themselves around each of the digimon and Artemis, binding them tightly. "Renamon, they need our help!"

The fox digimon appeared beside her, "Yes, we've got to leave now if we want to make a difference."

The duo turned to leave, but found Rumiko standing there. "So, you're leaving?"

Rika looked to the ground,"Yeah, I've..I've got to. My…my friends are in trouble."

The supermodel looked to the ground sadly. "I..I just want you to know that..I love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

She reached over and hugged her. "And even though I really don't say it, I'm proud of you Rika. You make your own choices, just like your mother did." She broke out of the embrace and stared at her, "Go and get that red bubble thing or whatever it is. But, just remember that your mother will be waiting for you to come back."

She looked past her daughter at the fox woman. "Renamon, is it?"

"Yes."

"Look after her."

"Always."

"Don't worry Mom," Rika said, running to the door,"We'll beat that thing! See ya' later."

Rumiko placed her hand over her face to hide her tears.

Outside, Rika and Renamon charged along the sidewalk towards the center of town. "Renamon?" the red head asked.

"Yes, Rika?"

"We're crazy aren't we? I mean, we don't even know how to bio-merge again, and now we think we can beat this thing? I've got to be nuts! We're just a rookie and a human! How can we stand up against something like that! If only we had more power…."

Time seemed to slow down as Rika looked down to watch her feet. She saw her sneaker lifting into the air, and catching a brief glance of Renamon's paw before place that foot down so her other leg could come up. She watched slowly as that foot touched down, covered not in a sneaker, but a heeled boot. She spied her other leg and found that it had changed as well.

She blinked a few times before finding herself in an area of white light. "Renamon, have we bio-merged?"

"Yes Rika," the fox woman responded, a surge of excitement in her voice.

"Then let's save our friends!"

Sakuyamon laughed as she shot into the sky, zooming towards the battlefield.

""""""""""""""""""

The digimon were being squeezed by the red cords of the bird-shaped creatures while Pendulum Feet hovered over them, obviously trying to decide who to attack next.

"Hang in there, Wargrowlmon!" Takato shouted to him.

"I don't really have a choice!"

"Beelzemon!" Ai and Mako shouted, "Can't you break free?"

The mega shook his head. "Som..somethin's wrong. It's..drainin' my strength!"

"Rapidmon!" Jenrya called,"Don't give in, you'll be able to get out!"

"Jenrya!" his digimon responded,"Do you see how it's got me? I think this could be the end!"

"Don't count on it! Sakuyamon is here to save you!"

"Sakuyamon!" Takato gasped as the mega appeared in the sky. She used her staff to knock Pendulum Feet out of her before she stopped in front of the tangled Rapidmon.

"What are you doing here?"the Ultimate asked,"Attacking us when we're helpless? That would be just like you."

"I'm here to help, I swear," she said, "I don't expect you to believe what I'm saying, so I'll show you." She lifted her staff and created a cluster of glowing leaves, which whipped across the bird-shaped creatures, destroying them and freeing the others. The digimon were weak from being in contact with those creatures, as they regressed back to the rookie forms. Even Artemis had to change back to her true form of Miki.

"What were those things?" Sakuyamon asked, from the sky.

"We don't know," Kasumi said,"But they flew right towards us. It was like they were searching for us."

Sakuyamon turned around when she heard a group of the birds flying towards her. "Well, Searchers, prepare to meet your end!" She swung her staff into the group of bird-creatures, which vaporized when a glowing beam of energy emerged from the staff.

"Sakuyamon!" Kazu called,"Watch out for Pendulum Feet!"

"Who?" she gasped, turning around. She was barely able to swing her staff up in time to block the scythes of the deadly creature. She looked down to its feet and smiled. "Ah, now I get it. Well, Pendulum Feet, prepare for your end!"

She flung it into the air and pointed her staff at the cord connecting it to massive red blob. "Spirit Strike!" Her staff formed two beams of energy that ripped through the cord; the backlash of energy annihilating the deadly Pendulum Feet.

She landed on the ground in front of the other Tamers. "You really came to save us," Takato gasped.

"That's right," she said,"and also, to apologize. Takato, I'm sorry for what I did." She turned to Kasumi, "And for what I did to your father."

The group was going to respond, when they heard the familiar whirl of helicopters over them. "We should get out of here," Takato shouted over the roar, "I don't think the army's going to congratulate us!"

"But where can we go?" Kasumi asked.

"The school!" Kazu suggested,"No one will think to look for us there. Besides, I heard it was evacuated. I don't think they're going to let anyone in a building next to that!" He pointed towards the red bubble.

"We don't have time to argue," Jenrya said,"Let's go."

They started running, but saw that Sakuyamon was heading the other way. "Aren't you coming with us?" Ai asked.

"I think that for now, we need some time apart," the mega smiled,"I'll see you around though." She ran into a dark alley and vanished.

"What about us, Takato?" Kasumi asked,"What are we going to do?"

The goggle-wearing Tamer glanced over to the large red bubble that was slowly growing. "I don't know."

To be continued….


	15. Apocalypse: Chapter 2

**December 22, 2016**

**Apocalypse: Chapter 2**

When the citizens of Tokyo awoke in the bright early morning, they had hoped that the events of yesterday were only a dream; that their city was not under attack from an otherworldly invader. However, a glance outside their windows quickly proved them wrong, the massive red mass of the D-Reaper was still slowly bubbling out from the center of the Hypnos building, absorbing and assimilating everything in it path. It was growing at such an incredible rate that the city officials were afraid that the entire city would be inside of the red blob in a matter of days. They began to evacuate the citizens, leaving most of the streets bare, except for the army presence, of course.

One of the army generals was standing inside of his temporary headquarters, examining a computerized satellite image of the city as it now stood. The D-Reaper had now assimilated nearly five blocks in all directions, with the Hypnos building acting as the center. The invader was quickly gaining more and more of the city. Unless something was done, this war would be over.

The general raised an eyebrow when a soldier walked into the tent. "Sir!" he quickly saluted him.

"What is it?"

"The Hypnos representative is here."

The general frowned. "Send her in."

The soldier saluted the general then exited. He returned a second later with Tally following him. She bowed to him. "Sir."

"What is the purpose of your visit?" he asked, making it completely clear to her that she was not welcome. Tally ignored his attitude and continued to talk.

"Sir, as you are no doubt aware, the Hypnos building was under attack by the being that is out there now. This being is known as D-Reaper, and it used the Hypnos mainframe to invade the city. Commander Yamaki and others were trapped inside."

"And you're telling me this, because...?"

"They need to be rescued.."

The general chuckled. "You really expect me to jeopardize my soldiers to save a few 'spies?"

Tally struggled to keep her temper under control. "They know more about D-Reaper then you do."

The general chuckled. "You're wasting my time. Now get out."

She stared at him for a few seconds before turning around and stomping out.

""""""""""""""""""

As the rising sun slowly rose in the morning sky, it cast its rays along the ground, moving across the city. It reached the evacuated school at 7:34, shinning a bright yellow beam into Mr. Kamiya's classroom, where the male Tamers were sleeping peacefully. After the battle they were engaged in yesterday, they were not sure they would ever sleep again, but all of them were asleep before their heads hit the ground.

The sun kept blazing through the windows directly at Takato's face. Still half-asleep, he used his hands to reach for the shutters, only to find that they were not there. He sat fully awake and yawned a few times, glancing around the room. Jenrya and Terriermon were sleeping on the ground under a pile of blankets that they found in the back of the classroom. Kazu was on a counter, snoring loudly. Guardromon sitting on the floor next to him. Mako and Impmon were curled up in the corner, fast asleep. He hated to disturb the peacefully site, but he knew that he had to.

He walked over to the wall and flicked the lights on. "Time to get up!" he shouted. Everyone instantly shot awake.

"Was that really necessary?" Jenrya asked, obviously annoyed at being awaken so abruptly.

Takato smiled and shrugged.

"I'll wake the girls," Kazu volunteered, jumping off of the counter and running across the hall.

Mako yawned and rubbed his stomach. "I'm really hungry."

Guilmon's stomach started to growl. "Me too."

Jenrya turned to Takato."We need to think of food."

The goggle-wearing Tamer was going to respond when they heard a loud scream, followed by Kazu running into the classroom. Kasumi, Miki, Snow Agumon and Ai came running in a second later. "Kazu!" Miki screeched.

"What happened?" Jenrya shouted, trying to be heard over the girls' screams.

Miki pointed to the teenager hiding behind Guardromon,"He snuck a peak at us when we were changing!"

Jenrya turned to him. "Kazu, I can't believe that..." He suddenly spun back around and looked at the girls. "What do you mean you were changing? Where did you get extra clothes?"

"Never mind!" Kazumi shouted, her face red with embarresment,"It's not important!"

"They weren't fully dressed," Kazu grinned.

Kasumi and Miki launched at Kazu, intending to strangle him, but Takato and Jenrya stopped them.

"We don't have time for this!" Takato shouted.

After finally pulling them apart, Jenrya addressed the team. "I think we should try to find somewhere to eat. Everything in this section of the city has been evacuated."

Takato nodded, and then caught something in the corner of his eye. He turned to glance out the window and gasped.

"Maybe the cafeteria?" Miki suggested.

Takato walked towards the window, still in awe.

"The food's probably bad by now," Kasumi sighed,"Besides, that would be stealing, wouldn't it?"

Takato stopped at the window and stared outside. Standing in the middle of the field was a figure that he instantly recognized. "Jeri?"

The others turned to him. "What did you say, Takato?" Guilmon asked.

The goggle-wearing teenager blinked a few times, and Jeri was gone. "I saw her!" he shouted, running back to them,"I saw Jeri! She was standing right out there!"

"Jeri?" Kazu asked,"I thought she was in East Matsumoto? How did she get here?"

"I..I don't know, but that was her! I wasn't dreaming!"

"Okay, okay. Easy."

Jenrya walked over and placed his hand on Takato's shoulder. "Maybe you're just hungry. We've got to find somewhere to eat."

Takato looked to the ground, then suddenly smiled. "I got it. We can eat at my bakery."

The others shrugged. "Do you have any cream puffs there?" Ai asked.

Takato chuckled slightly. "We'll have to see if there's any left. Come on."

"""""""""""""

While Tally was trying to recruit rescuers, those trapped inside the D-Reaper were slowly coming to realize exactly what had happened to them. The small broom closet that Ryo had thrown them inside before D-Reaper commandeered the building had quickly become quite possibly the only room in the building that was safe, something they were still trying to discover. Thankfully, the case that Riley had escaped with not only contained the cds of the Hypnos mainframe, but also a military laptop. Wong and the purple-haired technician were quickly analyzing the invading program, trying to discover why they were still alive, and how to use it to defeat the D-Reaper.

Tai crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. He watched as Wong, Yamaki and Riley huddled around the small laptop. Ryo and Cyberdramon stood guard at the door, waiting for the inevitable time when the D-Reaper realized they were still alive. Alice and the rest of the digimon were seated on the floor, staring up at the three computer experts. They had been at this all night. "How much longer is this going to take?" Tai asked.

"I'm sorry we're not working fast enough for you, Kamiya," Yamaki sneered at him.

The Master Digidestined sighed. "Sorry, I'm just a little stressed out. Do you have any information?"

Wong sighed this time. "All I've manage to discover is that we appear to be in a 'corrupted' section of the D-Reaper's program. It's unreadable to the D-Reaper, so that's what's been keeping us alive."

"What caused it to become corrupted?" Alice asked.

Wong shook his shoulders. "I don't know, but it's probably only a matter of time before we're found."

"We're searching on a way to escape right now," Riley explained,"As soon as we think of something, we'll let you know."

Cyberdramon growled. "All this waiting is making me crazy! All I want is a shot at D-Reaper! He won't know what hit him!"

Tai walked over to the door. "What's wrong Tai?" Agumon asked.

"On the other side of this door is a foe that is quite possibly more powerful than anyone we've ever faced before."

"We'll beat it," Gatomon said,"We've always won before."

Tai sighed. "I hope so."

"""""""""""""""

The Tamers had managed to sneak through the streets and into the evacuated Matsuki bakery. After breaking through the door, Takato lead them into the kitchen, where they all looked completely lost as they stared at the assortment of baking goods. "Takato," Kazu said, lightly running his hands across a bag of floor,"I guess I should tell you that I can't cook."

Takato ignored her and turned on the faucet. "Well, we've got water." He walked over to the gas stove and smiled when the flames came out. "We've got heat. Now, let's make some bread."

"I did tell you that I couldn't cook, right?" Kazu asked.

Takato opened the closet and pulled out a pile of aprons. He threw one to each of the Tamers. "Put those on, then do what I say."

They reluctantly pulled the pieces of fabric on and started to follow Takato's instructions. He grabbed a large pot and filled it with water, then placed it on the burner. "Jenrya, get some yeast out of that pantry over there.

The black-haired teen opened the door and pulled out a Tupperware container filled with small particles. "Is this it?"

"Yeah," Takato took it from him."Kazu and Kasumi get a large pot and milk the milk, sugar, shortening and salt. Then place it over here and mix it together. DON'T burn it, or you'll kill the yeast."

"Uh, right," Kazu said. He saw that Kasumi was starting to get the ingredients, so he grabbed the pot. After mixing it all together, he placed it on the burner.

After the milk-mixture had cooled, Guilmon poured it into a large bowl. "Miki, add more flower, then mix it together."

"Um, gotcha."

After she was done, Takato poured the yeast into the mixture, then added _more_ flour, mixing it all together. "Jenrya, get the baking sheet and place it on the table. Cover it with floor."

"Sure...Is this good?"

"Perfect," he said. He put the dough onto the table and covered it with flower. "Ai and Mako, this is your job to kneed this."

The two younger children grinned and stood on the chairs to be able to reach the table. Takato showed them how to kneed the dough properly, and then they took over. After they were done, the chief placed it in a bowl and covered it.

"We've got to wait an hour for it to rise," he explained.

"What do we do until then?" Kazu whined.

"Watch some t.v.," Snow Agumon suggested.

He grumbled and matched into the Matsuki's living room..

After waiting an hour, Takato separated the dough into equal sections for every human and digimon pair, then instructed them on the remainder of the bread making process and shoved the pans back into the oven. After waiting almost another hour, the timer finally buzzed and it was time to eat.

"I hope I don't poison us," Kazu said to Guardromon.

"Don't worry, Kazu," he said,"My stomach is able to withstand many types of poison."

"Thanks a lot," he muttered.

"It looks delicious," Ai's mouth watered,"I can't wait."

"Yeah," Mako and Impmon nodded.

They were about to start eating, when Terriermon's ears started to twitch. "What's the matter?" Jenrya asked.

"Something's outside," the dog/bunny said.

"A digimon?"

"I don't think so," Takato said, looking at Guilmon's eyes,"He usually detects them too."

"But what is it?" Miki asked, standing up from the table.

Takato ran to the door. "We'd better find out, come on."

"But the bread..." Ai complained.

"Let's go!"

The Tamers stood nervously in front of the door. They took a deep breath as Takato opened it, but quickly exhaled when they found out who was on the other side. "Tally?" Miki gasped.

The blond technician smiled slightly."Hi."

"W..what are you doing here?" Takato asked.

"I'd be happy to tell you, but do you mind if I come inside?"

"Oh sure, sure," he stepped aside so they could walk in,"Are you hungry?"

"There's not getting any of our bread!" Ai protested, holding her loafs in her arms.

She came inside and joined the Tamers in a late breakfast. After they were finished, she started to speak. "Okay, we have a big problem."

"What?" Takato asked.

"As you probably know, the D-Reaper program invaded the Hypnos building and used it as a launching point to infect the rest of the city."

"That's terrible!" Miki gasped,"Everything's...gone?"

"To be perfectly honest, I don't know. What I do know, is that Yamaki is trapped inside, along with Riley and..Mr. Wong and Master Kamiya."

Henery and Kasumi gasped. "What?"

She nodded. "Yes."

Kasumi stood up,"But...but..my father should be in the hospital!"

Tally nodded her head. "I don't know why he was there, but he's trapped inside."

Takato nodded firmly. "So, what do you want us to do?"

Tally smiled slightly. "We need you to rescue them." She grabbed a rolled up piece of paper and placed it on the table. When she flattened it, the Tamers could see it was a blueprint of the Hypnos building. She took out a red pen and drew a line around the building. "Now, the D-Reaper's bubble ends here and here. If you enter through this side, you might be able to enter in here."

"Is the building even still standing?" Kazu asked,"Not to be a downer or anything, but we don't know what's happening inside the D-Reaper."

Tally smiled. "Recent satellite observations indicate that the building _is_ still standing. Besides, it appears that the D-Reaper used the Hypnos mainframe to infect the rest of the city. If it destroyed the building, it would be destroying a part of itself."

Takato glanced at the others. "Well?"

"Let's go for it!" Terriermon shouted,"We'll kick its butt!"

"I agree," Kasumi said,"We've got to get my father and the others out of there."

Takato smiled as he faced Tally. "We're in."

""""""""""""""""

Calumon trotted along the sidewalk around the edges of the D-Reaper's bubble. Every few feet he glanced at the red mass, them kept walking. "Oh, Jeri..."

"Hey Calumon."

He gave a small yelp and jumped into the air. He turned around and saw Rika and Renamon standing behind him. "Sorry," the teenager said,"I didn't mean to scare you."

Her digimon partner looked at the small digimon with worry. "What are you doing here, Calumon? It's dangerous to be so close to the D-Reaper."

The small digimon pointed towards the twin towers of the Hypnos building. "I was trying to find a way to save Jeri."

"Jeri?" Rika asked,"Jeri's in there?"

"I think so."

The red head looked to the ground. "I used her as bait to make Takato fight us. Could she be trapped because of..." She shot her head back up, a determined look on her face. "Come on, Renamon."

"Where are you going?" Calumon asked, trailing behind them.

"I suddenly have a searing pain in my chest, I think its called guilt," she muttered.

""""""""""""""""

The mobile Hypnos base, to be more precise, the armored Hypnos van, slowed to a stop near the sidewalk that was adjacent to the park, or rather what was left of it, as the D-Reaper had covered that part of the city as well. The side door slid open and the Tamers and their digimon jumped out. They stared up at the red monstrously in front of them.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Tally asked from the driver's side window,"We could come back later."

"When?" Jenrya asked,"Who knows how long my dad and the others have. We've got to do this now."

"He's right," Terriermon grinned,"We can do this. There's nothing we can't do when we're together."

Snow Agumon sighed. "A little corny, but..."

Takato turned to his partner. "Ready, buddy?"

"I was born ready!"

Each one of the Tamers grabbed their digi-modify cards and slid them through their D-Arcs. "Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"

**MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION:**

"Guillmon matrix digivolve to Wargrowlmon!"

"Terriermon matrix digivolve to Rapidmon!"

"Snow Agumon digivolve to Veedramon!"

"Impmon mega digivolve to Beelzemon!"

Miki's body twisted and changed until it was in the figure of a young woman. "I am Artemis, Digital Hunter!"

The digimon stared at the edge of the D-Reaper's bubble. Groups of bird-shaped creatures shot from the red mass and hovered over the group. "Here come the Searchers!" Veedramon shouted.

The D-Reaper's agents stared at the group of digimon, then darted back to the main bubbles of the red rouge program. The Tamers and the digimon stared at each other in awe. "What's with them?" Beelzemon asked.

Rapidmon squinted his eyes. "Wait, I think they're coming back."

Guardromon studied the images. "My sensors indicate that these are different Agents."

The combined group watched as two figures launched from the D-Reaper: one was a blue torso, minus the legs, a small head and a massive pair of arms to support itself. The other one was a large human figure with a giant horn attached to the head. Both of the D-Reaper's newest agents landed on the ground in front of them.

Kazu stared at both of them for a few seconds before pointing at the first creature. "I'll call you Creep Hands, and you'll be Horn Striker."

"Kazu!" Takato shouted.

Before the visor-wearing Tamer could protest, the two agents leapt into battle. Horn Striker jabbed his protruding blade into the robotic partner of Kazu, sending him tumbling backwards into a tree. He grabbed Beelzemon by the leg and used him to knock Artemis into the ground. Before the two warriors could get to their feet, he propelled himself in the air and slammed his horn into Beelzemon's back. The sheer pain caused him to unleash a blood-curdling scream.

The others were not fairing any better against Creep Hands. Wargrowlmon threw his razor forearm at the creature, intending to slide it in half, but it propelled itself into the air before landing on Veedramon's head.

"Hold still!" Rapidmon ordered, pointing his gun barrel arms at the blue dragon and the creature on her head,"Rapid Fire!"

"Rapidmon!" Veedramon shouted, attempting to leap out of the way, but she was not fast enough. The armored rabbit's missiles exploded against her, but Creep Hands jumped off of her seconds before.

Jenrya's digimon cringed. "Uh, sorry about that."

"Rapidmon!" Jenrya shouted,"Behined you!"

He spun around just in time for Creep Hands to start to pound him with a barrage of punches. The green armored rabbit tried to stay afloat, but the pain was too much, and he fell to the ground. He may have been grounded, but he was still able to fire another round of his Rapid Fire at the Agent, but Creep Hands proved to be too fast for him.

"Wargrowlmon!" Takato ordered, "It's up to you!"

"Right, Takato," the massive metal armored answered. He spied Creep Hands jumping around on the ground, mocking him. He growled in rage and placed his two hands together. "Radiation Blade Attack!" A tremendous beam of energy exploded from his hands, heading straight towards the deadly agent. Creep Hands did leapt out of the point of impact, but Wargrowlmon's attack caused enough of an explosion to severe the cable connecting Creep Hands to the D-Reaper. With it's connection gone, Wargrowlmon's simple physical attacks were enough to destroy it.

"That wasn't so hard," Takato grinned.

Kasumi pointed towards the other members of their group. "I think they need some help! Horn Striker is tearing them apart!"

She was right. The D-Reaper's most powerful agent at this point was thrashing Beelzemon around like he was a rag doll. Artemis and Guardramon were on the ground, licking their wounds. They would have to do much better as the horned agent slammed Beelzemon into them.

Takato nodded. "Okay, Wargrowlmon, let's go…"

"No!" Kazu shouted,"Listen, we'll distract him while you free the others!"

"Are you sure" Jenrya asked.

"You don't have to do this," Kasumi said.

Kazu grinned. "Hey, don't worry about us. Go and save them."

Takato nodded. "Alright, come on guys." Kasumi, Jenrya and their digimon followed him up the hills of the grassy fields of the park until they reached the edge of the D-Reaper's red bubble. The Searchers were hovering around in the sky, but so far, they had not found them. The group stared at the red wall in front of them. "Any idea how to get inside?" Rapidmon asked.

Jenrya was about to answer him, when they heard Kasumi and Veedramon scream out. "Takato!" The black-haired teenager spun around and saw Wargrowlmon and Takato being pulled inside the bubbled by a stream of Searchers that had wrapped around them.

"Hang on guys!" Rapidmon called. He and Veedramon tried their bests to pull the D-Reaper's first agents off of them, but they were not strong enough. Both Takato and Wargrowlmon were pulled inside of the red bubble.

"Takato!" Jenrya shouted.

"What are we going to do?" Kasumi asked, almost in tears,"We've got to do something!"

Jenrya started glancing around. "We've got to find a way inside! We'll get them back, but.."

"But what?"

"But why did the D-Reaper pull _them_ inside, and not us too? What makes Takato so special?"

""""""""""""""""""

Unknown to any of the Tamers at that point, Rika and Renamon were following Calumon's newly discovered 'sixth sense' to the other side of the massive D-Reaper's main bubble. The trio stared up at the red wall. The Digimon Queen turned to the small digimon. "Are you sure Jeri's inside this?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

Rika sighed and looked to Renamon. "Well, how do we get inside?"

"Rika!" the fox gasped, pointing to the sky, "Look!"

The teenager and Calumon shot their heads to the sky, a stream of bird shaped creatures shot down to them. "Searchers!" she shouted.

"Oh no!" Calumon screamed, jumping behind them.

Rika yelled out to intimidate the agents, but suddenly found that she had merged with Renamon once again.

"You're Sakuyamon again!" Calumon gasped in awe.

The mega fox woman flung her staff and destroyed the horde of Searches. She them glanced at Calumon. "So, where to?"

The small digimon pointed to the two towers of the Hypnos building, the only part still visible above the D-Reaper's bubble. "She's there."

"But, there's nothing up there," the mega protested.

"But, I feel her."

Sakuyamon glanced at him, then back at the towers. She sighed as she lifted him up. "Alright, let's go."

They hovered above the largest bubble and flew directly towards the two towers. However, they quickly found they could only progress so far as they soon stopped short.

"What happened?" Calumon asked.

Sakuyamon tapped the sky with her staff. "Something's here."

"Like an invisible wall?" he asked.

Sakuyamon smiled. "Yes, exactly. Stay back."

Calumon floated backwards. When he was a safe distance away, Sakuyamon slashed her staff into the wall. The sky shattered a second later, revealing another red ball, hovering between the two towers.

"Wow," Calumon gasped.

The hole was starting to close. Sakuyamon quickly grabbed the sides and held it open. "Hurry, Calumon!" she moaned.

The digimon dove through the small hole and appeared inside of the red bubble. Surprisingly, he found that he was still safe.

Outside, Sakuyamon breathed a sigh of relief. "Now I've got to get inside."

A stream of red cables shot out of the red bubble and wrapped around her. "Uh oh."

She screamed in pain as she was pulled inside.

""""""""""""""""""""

Back at the battlefield, Kazu's group was still trying to overpower the dreaded Horn Striker. The D-Reaper's agent had managed to subdue Artemis, who had changed back to Miki. Guardromon and Beelzemon were still trying to destroy the deadly creature.

"Come on, Guardromon!" Kazu shouted, "Get it! Destroy it!"

His robotic partner pointed his arms at Horn Striker and fired his Guardian Barrage. Followed shortly by Beelzemon's Double Impact. Unfortunately, the Agent was un-harmed.

"I don't believe this!" Kazu grumbled.

"Beelzemon!" Mako shouted,"Why can't you destroy 'im?"

"I..I don't know," the mega answered, completely awestruck, "Why ain't our attacks workin'?"

"The cord!" Ai suddenly shouted, "I remember Sakuyamon destroyed the cord yesterday!"

"She's right!" Guardromon gasped, "If we sever the cord, then Horn Striker here should lose most of its power."

Beelzemon just grabbed his gun and pointed it forward, "Enough with the egghead talk! Jus' tell me where ta shoot!"

Horn Striker suddenly charged at Beelzemon, throwing the demon lord digimon into Guardromon. Both digimon slammed through an adjacent tree. The D-Reaper's agent did not give them time to recover as it began mercilessly pounding Beelzemon with its fists, every attack resounding through Beelzemon's body and injuring Guardromon as well. The D-Reaper's agent grinned at is raised its fists for a final attack, but stop when it became aware of a glowing light on its right.

"Primal Orb!"

Kazu and the two young children gasped as a glowing ball tore through Horn Striker's cord, leaving the Agent severed from the main D-Reaper. "Beelzemon!" Ai shouted, "Now's your chance!"

The mega digimon grinned as he stared at Horn Striker. "Hmm, Crimson Claw!" He threw both of his claws across Horn Striker, blasting it apart. He slowly stood up and panted. "Well, that wasn't that hard." He glowed brightly, and regressed back to Impmon.

"Who saved us?" Mako asked, turning around. He gasped as he saw a familiar monkey riding atop a dragon hovering a few feet from them.

"Makuramon?" Kazu gasped,"What are you doing here?"

"""""""""""""""

Inside of the infected Hypnos building, the trapped members of Earth's forces were desperately trying to discover a weakness in the D-Reaper, so sort of error that could use to escape. So far, all of Wong's probes had been destroyed by the overwhelming presence of the D-Reaper itself. He feared that if he made them any more powerful, the D-Reaper's central intelligence would become consciously aware of them. The group was becoming more desperate, and they had decided to simply charge into the thick of it and attempt to break free.

Ryo and Yamaki stood in front of the door, ready to lead the group through the D-Reaper. They were the only members of the group that had any power already activated. Agumon and Gatomon would have to digivolve, and if Tai still had his sword he would have been able to help, but it was dropped in the Digital World following his battle with Hakkado. Once they were in hallway itself, he would risk evolving Gatomon and Agumon. Wong and Alice were next, unarmed, but Lopmon swore she would defend them as best she could.

"Okay, are you ready?" Yamaki asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Everyone nodded. "We're ready," Tai answered.

"Okay, Cyberdramon," Ryo said,"You know what to do."

The dragon digimon growled slightly and kicked the door open. The group leapt into the hall and gasped. They were prepared to face anything on the other side, a hallway swarming with D-Reaper agents, or a building collapsing from extreme decay. What they were not prepared for was a hallway covered in a red mass, the walls and ceilings connected to each other through a series of red tendrils. The entire floor moved and heaved, as though it had become a living being.

"What the heck happened here?" Tai gasped.

"Very interesting," Wong mused, "It appears that the D-Reaper has integrated the entire building into itself. I've never seen assimilation like this on such a grand scale. It appears as thought this 'D-Reaper', can bend the laws of nature!"

"You're kidding, right?" Ryo asked,"How can it do that?"

Wong was about to answer, but the entire hall started to moan. "Maybe we should save this conversation for another day," Tai said, lightly pushing Alice and Lopmon,"I think the D-Reaper knows we're here."

The walls suddenly became alive, shooting out tentacles of red slime. The group started running, but a group of small Pendulum Feet appeared. "We're trapped!" Alice shrieked.

"No we're not," Tai said, grabbing his two digivices, "Agumon and Gatomon, now!"

"Agumon warp digivolve to Wargreymon!"

"Gatomon digivolve to Angewomon!"

The three digimon, plus Ryo and Yamaki tore through the groups of D-Reaper agents, clearing a path for Tai, Wong, Alice and Lopmon to run through. Once they were safely down the path, the others followed. Unfortunately, a new Creep Hands appeared in front of them.

"This isn't going very well," Tai sighed.

The D-Reaper's agent started running towards them. "Wargreymon! Angewomon!" he shouted.

Alice cowered in his arms, "No!"

Tai covered her with his body as best he could, prepared to die for her. Despite the situation, he was shocked when he saw Lopmon running towards the D-Reaper's agent. "Lopmon, what are you doing?"

"Lopmon digivolve to…"

""""""""""""""

Inside of the D-Reaper bubble, Takato and Guilmon were surprised to find that they were still very much alive. They were standing inside of the giant red bubble, and they could clearly see all of the buildings were covering in the same red substance. However, they could make out that they were still standing in the park, but all of the trees and grass were still un-touched.

"Guillmon, are you all right?"

The red dinosaur nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Where are we Takato?"

The goggle-wearing Tamer took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "I think we're inside of the D-Reaper? Look, you can see all of those buildings, but why are the trees still okay?"

"The organic components could not be assimilated."

The duo spun around and saw a figure that they never expected to see. "Jeri?" Takato gasped,"Jeri…w..what are you doing here?"

The Jeri figure continued to stare at him.

"Jeri," Takato gasped, "What are you doing here?"

Jeri grinned. "Subject Jeri Katou is at another location."

"What are talking about?" Takato gasped,"Jeri, what's wrong with you?"

"This is not Jeri Katou," she replied, "This unit designate as ADR-1. I assumed the form of Jeri Katou to analyze humanity and determine a course of action."

Takato and Guilmon watched in horror as the Jeri before them started to grow larger. Wings sprouted from her back and her hands blew apart to reveal blue claws underneath. Takato growled in anger. "Where's Jeri? The real Jeri!"

She stared at him. "Subject Takato Matsuki, your feelings are strong. You would do anything to retrieve subject Jeri Katou, wouldn't you?"

"Of course."

"You love her, don't you?"

"……yes."

"You would die for her, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, what's wrong with that?"

She laughed. "Self-termination is illogical. No other beings die for others."

"You're wrong!" he shouted," and even if you are right, that's what makes us human."

The Jeri clone exploded apart and in its place was a large blue skinned creature with wings cast in Jeri's image, wearing what looks like a red swimsuit. "That is why humanity must die!"

Takato fell to the ground in shock. "Ah!"

Guilmon ran to his side. "It's a Jeri Reaper! A J-Reaper"

The Jeri clone slowly marched towards him. "Now, Subject Takato Matsuki, prepare to die!" She was about to lunge at him, but an explosion off to the right caught her attention, as well as Takato and Guilmon. They watched in awe one of the walls of the infected Hypnos building blew apart, followed shortly by a Creep Hands and a large rabbit creature.

"Antiramon?"

While the rabbit Deva battled Creep Hands, they turned their attention back to the hole in the building's side. Wargreymon emerged a second later, carrying Tai, Wong and Alice. Ryo and Cyberdramon floated out next, the dragon digimon carrying Yamaki. Angewomon shot out last and flew to help Antiramon against Creep Hands.

"Master Kamiya!" Takato shouted,"You're okay!"

The J-Reaper stared at the force of digimon, especially Cyberdramon and Wargreymon. She glared at Takato. "We'll finish this another day." She jumped into the air and vanished.

"Who was that?" Tai asked.

Takato sighed. "It wasn't Jeri, that's all I know."

The group heard a loud moan, and upon turning around, found that Angewomon and Antiramon had succeeded in destroying the Creep Hands. They quickly joined the others. "That wasn't so hard," Angewomon smiled,"But now we've got to get out of here."

Guilmon frowned. "It wasn't so easy getting in here either."

Ryo and Tai stared at the red barrier, then nodded to each other. "Wargreymon," the Master Digidestined started, "You know what to do."

Ryo nodded. "Help him, Cyberdramon."

"Gladly," the dragon grinned, charging over to join the hovering mega digimon.

Wargreymon stared at the wall. "On three, got it?"

He growled. "Fine."

"One…two…three! Terra Force!"

"Desolation Claw!"

The two attacks merged together and created enough force to blow the red wall apart, leaving a massive hole in the side. Unfortunately it began to repair itself almost instantly.

"Everyone through!" Yamaki ordered, "Quickly!"

The trapped members of Earth's forces dove through the closing hole. They had seconds to spare as Yamaki's foot brushed against the retreating wall.

The Hypnos commander stared at his foot. "That was close."

"Daddy!"

Tai turned around just in time to get tackled to the ground by Kasumi. "Dad, what were you doing in there?"

He was going to answer but he saw Makuramon and Migiramon standing behind them. "What are you doing here?"

The Deva smiled slightly, "We are here to help."

Tai smiled. "That's good. We need all the help we can get."

Makuramon pointed to the sky. "However, I watched Sakuyamon and the Catalyst fly into that bubble. I was unable to get to them in time."

Everyone glanced upward and gasped as they became aware that another red bubble had appeared. Terriermon sighed. "Figures. We save some, we lose others."

Tai sighed. "All right. We all need to recuperate. Let's move out and return after we get some of our strength back."

The others nodded and followed the Master Digidestined out of the infected park. Takato stared at the mass of D-Reaper. "I don't know where you are Jeri, but I'll save you. I promise."

"""""""""""""

Inside of the red bubble between the two towers of the Hypnos building, Calumon found himself floating in an area of nothingness. He hovered in no direction at all until he spotted a transparent bubble floating in the air. He flew until he was close enough to glance inside. What he saw made him gasp, a teenage girl wearing a familiar green dress. She was sitting on the ground with her head buried in her knees.

Calumon frowned. "Jeri…"

To be continued…

Author's note: If you have not read my bio page, I have signed up with Fanfiction .net's support services. Author alert is now activated for me, so if you sign in and place _my_ id in the author alert section, you'll be alerted when I post anything. I hope you use this feature, and that I didn't pay for nothing.


	16. Apocalypse: Chapter 3

Apocalypse: Chapter 3 December 23, 2015

The city of Tokyo was under attack. This enemy was destroying everything within the boundaries. It smashed through buildings, it tore through streets and sidewalks, and most importantly, it killed hope. This enemy was not an unfriendly nation, nor was it a terrorist organization, it was a rouge computer program given physical form; the D- Reaper. This information destroyer had successfully assimilated the Hypnos mainframe, and used it to breach out into other areas of the city. Inside of the assimilated government building, a small bubble contained the only human that the D-Reaper needed.  
Calumon looked up at the hunched form he knew was his missing friend, Jeri. She was sitting down with her knees pressed firmly against her chest and her head buried deep in her arms. "Jeri!" the small digimon called,"Jeri! I found you! The others are going to be so proud of me when I tell them..." He trailed off as he stared at her. "Jeri, a..are you okay?"  
She did not answer him.  
He hovered up to try and pull the teenage girl's arms away. "Jeri, don't you remember me?"

Again, she did not answer.

Calumon sighed and he sat down beside her. "Jeri..."

"""""""""""""""""""""""""

Yamaki sighed as he stood atop a small balcony. He watched as the Monster Makers, the remaining Hypnos staff, and the Tamers assembled computers, projectors, and other classified pieces of technological equipment. He knew that the Monster Makers and Tamers should not even be holding the technological wonders, but he would worry about the red tape later. The fate of the city, no-the entire world was at stake. If those pig- headed government officials wanted to challenge his judgment, he would gladly fight back.  
"Commander."

He nodded as Tally approached him. "Sir, all of the equipment is inside. We're ready to set up our base."

He nodded again. "Good. The sooner we get up and running, the sooner we can start to understand this D-Reaper."

She nodded. "I hope so." She turned around and returned to overseeing the construction of the military base. Yamaki watched her walk back to the floor, then turned around to observe Riley walking towards him.  
"Is everything all right, sir?" she asked.  
He sighed. "Well, let's see: the city is under attack by a rouge program that used the information defense organization that I oversaw to assimilate most of this city."  
"Sir, no one said protecting the entire network would be easy."  
He smiled slightly. "I have no intention of being the first among a long line of failures."  
"Sir, I didn't mean..."  
"We will defeat the D-Reaper and save this city. Then we'll rebuild Hypnos, we'll make it better then before. You, Tally, Orion, Miki, me.." He smiled slightly,"Maybe Kamiya and the Tamers will even join us."  
Riley smiled warmly. "Sounds like a plan to me."  
They turned back to watch the Monster Makers assemble their new computer toys. This makeshift base had to be up and running within the next few hours or the D-Reaper would have taken too much of the city. Hope was running low, but he could not give up. They had to keep moving, everyone was depending on them.  
Down below, Wong lifted a computer monitor onto a CPU unit. Jenrya quickly connected the two via an insulated wire. "The monitor is attached, Dad."  
Wong smiled slightly. "We make a pretty good team, don't we?"  
"Yeah..." He turned away.  
"What's wrong, son?"  
Jenrya tried to form the words, but he kept stuttering. Finally he was able to speak, "Dad, are you mad at me?"  
Wong gasped. "W..what for?"  
"Because you told me to stay away, yet here I am."  
"Oh, that..." He turned away. "Well, I..." He turned back around and Jenrya could see that his father was smiling slightly. "Truth is, with all the excitement I sort of forgot."  
"But...?"  
"But I am glad that you are here," he sighed,"I don't like the idea of you being in danger, but here I am, right in the middle of it too. I can't exactly tell you to stay away, while I do the opposite." He walked over and hugged his son,"Sometimes there are orders that you can't follow. Part of growing up is learning to follow what your heart tells you to do. I'm proud that you made this choice."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah, just don't make a habit of it or anything."  
Takato sat on the floor with his back up against the wall. He watched as Guilmon carried a large computer CPU unit over to Tally, who pointed to Babel. The red dinosaur huffed, then walked over to the Monster Maker. Guilmon place it down and breathed heavily. Agumon ran over and told him that there was more to sort out. Takato's partner groaned, then followed the smaller orange dinosaur.  
"Is everything all right, Takato?"  
He turned around as Tai sat down next to him. He had a small cup in his hand, which he offered to the teenager. Takato shook his head. "No thank you."  
Tai shrugged. "You're probably too young for coffee anyway. So, what's on your mind?"  
"Everything," he sighed,"How did all of this happen? I mean, all I did was draw a picture of Guilmon, and the next thing I know, I'm a Tamer. I mean, it was kind of interesting to fight evil digimon and all that. Then..." he sighed,"Then Kenta's father was killed, and now D- Reaper's destroying the city. And Jeri's inside of it, and I don't know if she's even still alive! I was alone with the D-Reaper's clone of Jeri, why couldn't I see that it wasn't her? We might have been able to stop all of this! I'm just a big failure!"  
Tai sighed. "Takato, being a hero isn't easy, you know. We're only human, we make mistakes. You were depressed, and after what happened in the Digital World, it's only natural that you wouldn't have noticed the little things."  
"Yeah, but..."  
Tai put his arm around Takato's shoulder. "Listen, you're not a failure. I couldn't be more proud of you then if you were my own son."  
"Really?"  
He nodded. "Yeah, you remind me of myself when I was your age."  
"Wow, does that mean I'm going to turn out like you when I grow up?"  
"Hey, it could be worse."  
The two started laughing slightly. They were not aware that Kasumi had been silently listening from the balcony above. She turned around and slowly walked off. "So, Dad always wanted a boy. I guess that's why he sent me to live with Mom, because he never really wanted me."  
As she ran off, she passed by Alice and Lopmon. "Hey, Kasumi!" the blond called,"Are you okay?" Tai's daughter did not answer. "She seemed upset about something."  
Lopmon looked to the blond girl. "She was? Why do you say that?"  
"I think she was crying. I wonder what happened?"  
Lopmon surveyed the digimon, "I don't see Snow Agumon anywhere. I guess she doesn't know."  
Alice sighed. "She should feel lucky that she even has a partner." She looked to the ground, "I wish I had a partner."  
The small dog/bunny placed her paw on Alice's hand. "We may not officially be partners, but I will fight for you."  
Alice smiled. "I just don't understand how you were able to digivolve without a digivice."  
"I'm a Deva, remember? I don't need one."  
Alice lightly rubbed her head.   
A few hours later, the group had finally assembled the technological devices. They knew they needed to discover how far the D- Reaper had moved since they last checked, so Babel called up a satellite image of the city on his computer. The others quickly glanced over his shoulder.  
"I don't believe this!" Daisy gasped.  
"How could it've moved so fast?" Kazu asked.  
Yamaki studied the image for a few minutes. "The D-Reaper's covering the city faster than we thought. It seems the first thing we need to do is prevent it from spreading to other areas. Janyu, do you think you could create some kind of shield or something to keep it from spreading outside of the city?"  
Wong glanced at the other Monster Makers. "Yeah, I think so, but D-Reaper hasn't shown any weaknesses so far."  
"Wait!" Ryo gasped, "Before the Jeri clone infected Hypnos, I tried to attack her with an electro-magnetic gun. She was hurt, but it wasn't enough to stop her."  
Takato spoke next. "And when I met the J-Reaper, she told me that the park couldn't be assimilated because of the trees!"  
Wong nodded. "Okay, if we combined a 'bubble' of electromagnetic fields with certain energy waves emitted by trees, we might be able to stop it."  
"How long?" Tai asked.  
"We'll get started right away."  
The Master Digidestined smiled, then glanced around ."Has anyone seen Kasumi?"  
"I saw her run off before," Alice said,"It looked like she was crying."  
"Really? I wonder what's wrong?"  
"Master Kamiya," Yamaki appraoched him, "Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to order the evacuation of the city."  
Tai nodded. "That's a good idea. We should be able to concentrate more on fighting the D-Reaper if we don't have to worry about everyone's safety."  
"Glad you agree."  
"Sorry, I'm just worried about Kasumi, I hope she's all right."

""""""""""""""""""""  
After what seemed like hours of trying to reach Jeri, Calumon finally decided to give himself a rest. The small digimon sighed deeply as he sat down beside her. For the first time, he noticed that the small bubble they were inside of was actually floating inside of another, larger, red bubble. However, it was the figure, bound and unconscious, hovering in front of them.  
"Sakuyamon!" Calumon screamed, "Sakuyamon! Are you alright?"  
There was no response. The white digimon turned to the unmoving Jeri, then at the floor. "Oh, I guess I'm all alone."

"""""""""""""""""

Mrs. Matsuki stood firmly in the kitchen of her bakery. Her arms were crossed as she stared the armed soldier straight in the face. "I'm not leaving!"  
The soldier sighed. "Mrs. Matsuki, please. Everyone needs to be evacuated from..."  
"What about my son?" she asked,"Will he be waiting for us outside?"  
"I..I'm afraid that I..."  
"Then I'm not leaving," she said,"My son is here, he needs me."  
Mr. Matsuki walked up beside his wife and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Honey, you..neither of us, can help Takato right now. He has a chance to beat this thing..."  
"But he's my baby!"  
Mr. Matsuki sighed. "No, he's not. Not anymore. It's time we started realizing that."  
His wife started sobbing in his chest. "But...I don't want him to fight that thing!"  
"He's the only one that can!" He hugged his wife back,"Now, come on. The Nonakas and the Wongs will be waiting for us."  
Mrs. Matsuki sniffed. "Okay. Just give me a minute."  
The soldier bowed. "Take your time."

""""""""""""""

Around the out limits of the city, The Hypnos crew had already attached hundreds of small cylinder shaped devices around the boundaries of Tokyo. Once the shield was activated, they would act like poles on a fence, connected by an impassible electromagnetic field. Time was running out, however, as the D-Reaper was sending hordes of its Searchers out to discover what the humans were doing.  
Earth's forces had split into groups so they would be able to assemble the shield generators before their invading enemy destroyed the entire city and moved beyond. Wong's group was in charge of placing the small generators on the south eastern side of the city. Most importantly, he would also have to attach the main generator. The Monster Maker, Ryo and Cyberdramon worked feverously to place the small electrical devices along the predetermined lines. As they did, they noticed the hovering agents above them.  
"Great," Ryo sighed,"Searches."  
"I don't know," Wong said,"I don't think they've noticed us yet."  
Cybderdramon growled. "Think again." The agents of the D- Reaper had stopped above the trio to stare at them. They seemed to be examining the shield generators. After a few minutes of staring at them, the agents shot back towards the red bubble surrounding the assimilated city blocks. Almost instantly, a group of green skinned creatures appeared at the base of the bubble and charged towards them.  
Wong grabbed his cell phone. "Master Kamiya!" he shouted into the transmitter,"This is Wong! You had better get over here!"

"""""""""""""""""""""""""

"They're fighting."  
Calumon moved up from where he was sitting to look at the brown haired girl who had been silent so far. "Jeri?"  
"They're fighting again."  
Calumon's ears grew out of his head. "Jeri!" he said with a smile,"You talked! Wait, what do you mean? Who's fighting?"  
"The Tamers," she said. She was still hugging her knees tightly and had her face buried in her arms. "They are trying to fight against the D-Reaper's agents. It's useless."  
"Why?" he asked,"Why is it useless."  
"The D-Reaper told me. It makes perfect sense."  
"What?"  
"Sadness is a person's true state. There is no such thing as happiness, it's all just an illusion."  
"That's not true!" he protested,"Jeri!"  
She did not answer.  
"Oh, Jeri, I've got to help you, but how?"

"""""""""""""""""""

Back outside, Jenrya's group responded to Wong's call. They had completed their section of the city and were eager to make sure that their plan was successful. "Horn Strikers!" he shouted.  
"Two of them!" Artemis called.  
Jenrya saw his father staring at Ryo and Cyberdramon as they fought alone against the two Horn Strikers. "Dad!" he shouted,"We're coming!"  
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his D-Ark and his blue card. "Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution Activate!"  
"Terriermon matrix digivolve to Rapidmon!"  
The newly digivolved Ultimate leapt to the ground. He was soon joined by Artemis. Rapidmon slammed his feet into the back of one of the Horn Strikers, sending it to the ground. Artemis then jumped on top of the fallen agent and attempted to severe its connection to the main D- Reaper, but the other Horn Striker rammed its horn into her back. She slammed into Ryo and the two of them became tangled on the ground. The other Horn Striker jumped back onto its feet and stood besides its partner. Cyberdramon quickly flew behind them and attempted to attack, but they both spun around and pounded the dragon digimon into the ground. They were about to finish him off, but Rapidmon and Artemis came to his rescue.  
Wong stood on the side and stared in awe at the digimon fighters only a few feet in front of him. "Dad!"  
He turned to the right and saw his son calling to him. "Jenrya?"  
"Dad, finish putting the sheilds down! We'll distract them!"  
The Monster Maker nodded. "Right." He spun around and continued to place the small shield generators on the ground. He tried to ignore the sounds of battle behind him as he concentrated on his task. The others were counting on him, he had to finish. He attached all of his small devices except for the last one. This was the most important shield generator as it contained the activation device. He was about to press the black rectangular button, when he suddenly felt a presence behind him. He twirled around and saw one of the Horn Strikers standing behind him. He gasped and fell over backwards. "Ahh!"  
"Hang on!" Cyberdramon shouted. He slammed his shoulder into the Horn Striker's side and sent him flying into the other agent. The dragon digimon held his hands out. "Desolation Claw!"  
A shooting stream of white light tore through the two Agents. They exploded apart, leaving only the cord and areas of red slime. Ryo stood beside his partner. "Nice job."  
"Don't celebrate yet!" Rapidmon shouted,"Look at what's left of those two agents!"  
Everyone watched in horror as the red slime started to moved and slither into a large puddle. "They're starting to regenerate!" Jenrya gasped.  
One of the red blobs slid towards Ryo and Cyberdramon. The slime of the agent suddenly exploded into a giant red net. "Guys, watch out!" Artemis called. She tried to push them out of the way, but she, too was covered by the sheet of red. It instantly enveloped them. The cord quickly retracted and pulled the red covered trio into the main bubble of the D-Reaper.  
"Ryo!" Jenrya shouted,"Miki! Oh no! Dad, what did it do to them!"  
Wong could only point to the newly regenerated Horn Striker. Rapidmon leapt in front of the D-Reaper agent in an attempt to stop it from attacking Wong or Jenrya, but the agent fired a stream of white light from his palms. At such close range, Rapidmon did not have any chance to escape, he was hit so badly, that he regressed to Terriermon.  
Jenrya ran to his digimon's side. "Are you okay?"  
"That was Cyberdramon's attack!" he gasped.  
"Jenrya!" his father shouted,"Look out!"  
The black-haired boy spun around just in time to watch as the Horn Striker exploded into another sheet of red. It covered Jenrya and Terriermon and pulled them back to the main D-Reaper bubble.  
"No!" Wong shouted,"Jenrya! Jenrya..." He fell to his knees. "No, my son..I..." He shook his head,"No, I've got to activate the shield!" He ran towards the main generator, when he suddenly fell onto his face. He turned around and saw that one of the D-Reaper's Searchers hand wrapped itself around his leg. It was trying to absorb him as well.  
"No!" he screamed. Despite the amount of strength that the D-Reaper's agent had, Wong still managed to pull himself close enough to the main generator. He took a deep breath and pulled his arm as far as it could go. Thankfully, it was long enough to press the activation button.  
"Yes!" he said to himself as his arm fell to the ground, exhausted. The Searcher yanked him into the D-Reaper bubble.  
The main generator hummed for a few seconds before firing a beam of silver light into the next cylinder shaped device. That device fired the beam into the next one, then the next, then the next until the light had traveled through all the generators attached around the city and back to the main generator. These beams of silver light extend upward until they met directly over the city, forming a silver shaped dome. The shield was in place.

""""""""""""""""

Inside of their bubble, Calumon and Jeri knew something was wrong. The small digimon felt overcome by a feeling of rage and hate. The D- Reaper was mad at something; that much he knew. He turned to his companion, hoping that she would feel like talking. "Jeri, do you feel that? Jeri.Jeri?" She did not feel like talking.  
He sighed as he leaned on the ground again. "Poor Jeri,"  
"The D-Reaper is angry."  
Calumon turned to her, "What do you mean?"  
"The Tamers did something," she continued, almost in a trance, "They trapped the D-Reaper here, and now it wants revenge. It is going to try and form a more powerful Agent, made of the same substance as itself. It had created weaker agents out of the substances that it assimilated, but now it has assimilated digimon and humans. This should give its newest agent more stability."  
Calumon just stared at her. "I don't know what you're saying, or how you know it, but will Takato and the others get hurt?"  
She did not answer.

""""""""""""""""  
On the Eastern section of the city, the other Tamers had met up with Tai and Yamaki. They were about to journey to aid Wong and Jenrya, but they had to stop as the shield was erected around them. "The sheild's up!" Kazu shouted.  
Yamaki nodded. "Yes, it extends sea-level and cuts of all outside communication lines. The D-Reaper can't get out. Unfortunately, neither can we."  
The Tamers felt the color drain from their faces. "What do you mean?" Takato asked.  
Yamaki held up a small metallic rectangle. "This is the only way that the shield can be de-activated. This key will turn an electronic lock in the main generator." He smiled slightly, "We'd better not lose it."  
"That wasn't funny," Tai sighed.  
Yamaki's communicator began to beep. "Yamaki here."  
"Sir, we're no longer reading the signal from Wong, Jenrya, Artemis or Orion."  
He frowned. "Great."  
"There's something else. We're reading an abnormal amount of energy from the D-Reaper. I think something's coming your way."  
Yamaki glanced towards the massive ball of the D-Reaper. Something had caught his eye, like a rocket being fired from the top. It soared across the sky and slammed into the ground directly in front of the group. "Wh..what is that thing?"  
"It's got to be one of the D-Reaper's agents!" Takato gasped.  
"That thing is hideous!" Kazu exclaimed, "I mean, the others weren't that pretty either, but this thing is just disgusting! Oh man, it's making my skin crawl!"  
The new agent was in the shape of a giant humanoid creature. Its head contained no eyes, nose or ears, but a head of red tentacles and was covered in mouths. It torso also contained a number of the same heads as well as its arms. Each of its palms contained one smaller mouth.  
Tai stared at it. "Well, Kazu, got a name for this one?" Surprisingly, the creature answered instead!  
"D-Reaper agent ADR-07 experimentation complete. Result of head formation.satisfactory for this level of agent. Uploading to Mother.."  
Takato could not contain his surprise. "It's talking in Jeri's voice!"  
"Probably because Jeri's part of it," Yamaki explained.  
"What was all that other stuff it was talking about?" Kazu asked "It sounded like it was practicing making heads. And who's 'Mother'?"  
"That's got to be the main D-Reaper," Tai said, "And if Jeri really is a part of it, I'll bet she's merged with that..Mother D- Reaper."  
"Why Mother?" Ai asked, "Is D-Reaper a girl? When we fought it in the Digital World, it looked like a boy."  
"Probably when it merged with Jeri, it took on feminine characteristics," Yamaki said.  
"What about Practice Heads?" Impmon asked, "Did she forget about us, or what?"  
"What about Jeri?" Takato shouted, "If she's inside of the D-Reaper, how are we supposed to find her?"  
Yamaki began talking into his communicator again. "Riley, began a search of the D-Reaper. Try to find its Central Processor or whatever it has. I think Jeri Katou may be there."  
"We'll get right on it. Riley out. Good luck sir"  
Yamaki stared up at Practice Heads. "Thanks, I think we're going to need it."

To be continued..

Author's note: I apologize for this chapter being so short, but I'm trying to draw the story out into two more chapters for dramatic effect. I hope it works.  
Next chapter: The beginning of the end! And you guys are going to hate me when you read the end of this story!


	17. Apocalypse: Chapter 4

Apocalypse:

Chapter 4

**December 23, 2015**

The city of Tokyo was under attack. This enemy was destroying everything within the boundaries. It smashed through buildings, it tore through streets and sidewalks, and most importantly, it killed hope. This enemy was not an unfriendly nation, nor was it a terrorist organization, it was a rouge computer program given physical form; the D-Reaper. This information destroyer had successfully assimilated the Hypnos mainframe, and used it to branch out into other areas of the city. The city was in danger, but the citizens were not. They had been safely evacuated and the city encased in an impenetrable shield. The D-Reaper was not leaving, unfortunately, neither were the Tamers, still trapped inside.

A large group of other Tamers were assembled outside the city, all from different portions of the world. Each city had its own Master Digidestined, and they were there as well.

One of the Master Digidestined, a woman with orange hair, stared at the translucent dome in front of her. She sighed and rubbed her arms. "I'm so worried."

A man with blond hair walked over and hugged her. "Don't, they'll be fine."

She sighed again. "All I can think of is my baby girl inside of there. I never should have let her come here."

The man spun her around to stare at her face. "Stop that!" he said forcefully.

"You don't miss her?" the woman gasped.

"Sora," the man said, "Of course I miss Kasumi, but remember she's Tai's daughter. And right now, with a threat that he has to face…I can't think of anywhere else she should be right now then at his side."

Sora shivered. "But Matt, I'm so worried, about both of them."

Matt nodded. "I am too, but there's no way to get inside, right Ken?"

A younger man with brown hair walked beside them. "No, I checked. Whatever this shield is, it's ingenious. I guess Tai figured that we weren't going to be coming to help."

"But we alienated him," a woman with raven hair added, "We just kind of forgot about him, didn't we? It's no wonder that he wasn't counting on us."

"_I_ never forgot about him, Yolei," another man replied.

"Well, good for you, Davis!" Yolei snapped. She suddenly shook her head, "I'm sorry Davis. Jeeze, look at us, we haven't seen each other in nearly ten years, and we start acting like kids again!"

"We're just worried," Davis said, staring at the shield, "We just have to hope that whatever's happening in there, Tai's got it under control."

""""""""""""""

Inside of the shield, Tai and the remaining Tamers, along with Yamaki, were watching the massive ball of the D-Reaper when something caught their eye, like a rocket being fired from the top. It soared across the sky and slammed into the ground directly in front of the group. "Wh..what is that thing?"

"It's got to be one of the D-Reaper's agents!" Takato gasped.

"That thing is hideous!" Kazu exclaimed, "I mean, the others weren't that pretty either, but this thing is just disgusting! Oh man, it's making my skin crawl!"

The new agent was in the shape of a giant humanoid creature. Its head contained no eyes, nose or ears, but a head of red tentacles and was covered in mouths. It torso also contained a number of the same heads as well as its arms. Each of its palms contained one smaller mouth.

Tai stared at it. "Well, Kazu, got a name for this one?" Surprisingly, the creature answered instead!

"D-Reaper agent ADR-07 experimentation complete. Result of head formation…satisfactory for this level of agent. Uploading to Mother…."

Takato could not contain his surprise. "It's talking in Jeri's voice!"

"Probably because Jeri's part of it," Yamaki explained.

"What was all that other stuff it was talking about?" Kazu asked "It sounded like it was practicing making heads. And who's 'Mother'?"

"That's got to be the main D-Reaper," Tai said, "And if Jeri really is a part of it, I'll bet she's merged with that...Mother D-Reaper."

"Why Mother?" Ai asked, "Is D-Reaper a girl? When we fought it in the Digital World, it looked like a boy."

"Probably when it merged with Jeri, it took on feminine characteristics," Yamaki said.

"What about Practice Heads?" Impmon asked, "Did she forget about us, or what?"

"What about Jeri?" Takato shouted, "If she's inside of the D-Reaper, how are we supposed to find her?"

Yamaki began talking into his communicator again. "Riley, began a search of the D-Reaper. Try to find its Central Processor or whatever it has. I think Jeri Katou may be there."

"We'll get right on it. Riley out. Good luck sir"

Yamaki stared up at Practice Heads. "Thanks, I think we're going to need it."

Practice Heads turned glanced down at the assembled group. "ADR-07 analyzing enemies...analyzing attack pattern..."

"Should we attack?" Takato asked.

Tai stared at it. "No. Maybe we can leave before.."

Practice Heads suddenly slammed her fist towards the group. They quickly dove out of the way before the clenched hand smashed into the ground. "I guess we're attacking, huh?" Kazu asked.

"Digivolve!" Agumon ordered.

"Agumon warp digivolve to Wargreymon!"

"Gatomon armor digivolve to Nefertimon!"

**Matrix Digivolution**

"Guilmon matrix digivolve to Wargrowlmon!"

"Impmon mega digivolve to Beelzemon!"

"Snow Agumon digivolve to Veedramon!"

Tai grabbed his sword, which created a shield of energy around him and Yamaki powered up his internal mechanisms. "This thing wants to fight," Tai said, grabbed his handle, "Then we'll give it one! Attack, now!"

The Master Digidestined and the Hypnos Commander jumped onto Nefertimon's back and she and Veedramon shot towards the D-Reaper Agent from the left. Wargrowlmon and Beelzemon attacked from the right. Guardromon gave them cover by firing his Guardian Barrage at the front of Practice Heads. The D-Reaper agent countered by firing beams of lasers out of its mouths at the robot digimon.

"It can fire lasers?" Kazu asked in disbelief.

Practice Heads swung her hand and Wargreymon, tumbling him into Beelzemon. Both of them twirled through the sky and smashed into a building wall. "Back off!" Tai shouted, "Nefertimon, Veedramon, move back before..!"

It was too late. Practice Heads turned her entire body to face the forces approaching her from the left. She attacked with her lasers again, which seared across Nefertimon and Veedramon, throwing them into the ground.

"I think we need a new plan," Yamaki said, rubbing his organic arm.

Tai propped himself up with his sword. "We've got to cut that cord!"

"We'll do it!" Kasumi shouted, "Come on, Veedramon!" The two girls ran towards the D-Reaper Agent.

"Kasumi, wait!" Tai shouted.

Practice Heads glanced down at Tai's daughter and her Veedramon. She raised her palms and fired a barrage of lasers in an attempt to destroy two of her enemies. Fortunately, to the forces fighting for humanity, Kasumi and Veedramon stopped with seconds to spare. Practice Heads' lasers destroyed the ground inches in front of them. The force of the small explosion was enough to cause them to tumble backwards.

"We're coming!" Wargrowlmon snarled as he and Wargreymon flew to engage the D-Reaper Agent. She turned around and started firing her lasers again, but this time the two dgimon were ready. Wargreymon brought his shield around to his front and successfully blocked the attack. This left Wargrowlmon free to attack.

"Radiation Blade Attack!"

Wargreymon quickly returned his shield and formed his own energy attack. "Terra Force!"

Wargrowlmon's Radiation Blade Attack wrapped around Wargreymon's Terra Force. The combined attacks ripped through the center of Practice Heads, causing a massive amount of light and smoke to cover the small battlefield. When it cleared, the group could clearly see that Practice Heads was not herself. She was missing the large ball on the top of her shoulder, her entire left side was gone, and she was missing her right arm.

Wargrowlmon and Wargreymon turned to each other. "Not bad!" Takato's digimon grinned.

Wargreymon would have responded if he had not had had noticed Practice Heads moving around. Her body quickly regenerated itself, leaving her just as she was before. "This is going to be harder then we thought."

"Attack!" Tai shouted, "All at once!"

The Master Digidestined, Yamaki, and the digimon began to attack Practice Heads. As they battled against the D-Reaper agent, Ai and Mako noticed that the cord connecting the agent to the main D-Reaper bubble, the one that they now know is Mother D-Reaper, was un-protected.

"Beelzemon!" Ai shouted, "The cord! Attack the cord!"

Their digimon jumped back far enough to where he could see the cord. He grinned. "All right!" He grabbed his guns and aimed right at the life sustaining string. "Double..."

He was cut off when a dark shadow suddenly fell upon him. He glanced up and saw a familiar D-Reaper Agent soaring towards him. "Pendulum Feet!" Mako shouted, "Look out!"

Beelzemon tried to jump out of the way, but Pendulum Feet began to twirl around quickly. His blades tore into him before throwing him backwards.

"Another Agent!" Yamaki shouted, glancing towards the Mother D-Reaper bubble.

"Look!" Takato shouted, "More of them!"

"It's an entire army," Tai said in awe as the sky was suddenly covered with Searchers. The ground soon became infested with Creep Hands and Horn Strikers.

Kazu chuckled slightly. "Get the feeling we caught her on a bad day?"

"Get ready," Tai ordered, "This is going to be the fight of our lives."

Takato growled. "We need help! Oh, where the heck is Rika?"

"""""""""""""""""

Deep inside of the glowing red ball hovering over the Mother D-Reaper bubble, Rika and Renamon, still merged as Sakuyamon, were bound and unconscious by this computerized invader. Hovering in front of her was a clear bubble which held two beings, a small white digimon named Calumon, and the brown haired girl Jeri.

Calumon sighed as he looked at her. "Jeri, please, talk to me. You've got to talk to me! Please, I don't want you to be sad forever."

"Why?" she asked.

"Jeri!" he smiled, "You said something."

"Why don't you want me to be sad?"

Calumon started scratching his head. "Well, you see, um...because, you're so much happier when your happy! Um, that doesn't make sense. Why don't you just tell me why you're so sad?"

"Everyone I ever cared for leaves me, my mother died, no one cares for me."

"That's not true!" he shouted, "Everyone's fighting really hard for you! Mr. Kamiya, Jenrya, Takato,"

"Takato?" she asked, surprised, "Why would he fight for me? If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have had to fight Rika. It was my fault."

"No it wasn't! Takato doesn't hate you. He loves you!"

Jeri blinked. "He..loves me?"

Calumon nodded. "Yeah! I can tell!" He smiled and rolled his head, "His voice gets all mushy whenever he talks about you!"

"Takato...loves me," she repeated, completely in a daze, "He loves me. He loves me.."

Calumon nodded again. "Yeah. Jeri, do you love him too?"

Jeri smiled slightly as tears slowly rolled down her face. "He loves..." She suddenly glanced around, as if she became aware of where she really was.

"Oh, Calumon, w..what have I been doing?" she dried her tears, "Have I been...?" She tightened her fists, "No, it was _her!"_

She looked up at the large red bubble covering her small clear bubble. "I know you can hear me! I thought I was worthless, that no one ever wanted to be near me, because I didn't have a digimon partner. You tricked me! You made me believe that _you_ could be my partner, but you lied! And..and you made me think that I _was_ worthless. No more! I'm not going to listen to you anymore! And I will fight you with everything I have!"

Calumon jumped into the sky. "Yes!"

Jeri turned to him. "Calumon, how do we get out of here?"

"I don't know, but she does." He pointed out of the bubble.

Jeri turned to where he was pointing and gasped. "S..Sakuyamon?"

"Don't worry!" Calumon smiled, "She's here to help."

"She is?"

"Yup! She helped me in here, we've just got to wake her up." He started shouting,"Sakuyamon, wake up! Sakuyamon!"

Jeri joined in. "Sakuyamon! Sakuyamon! Wake up! Please, wake up!" She started pounding on her bubble. "Sakuyamon..please, help me..."

Rika suddenly opened her eyes. She tried to glance around, but all she saw was red. "R..Renamon? Renamon!"

A few second later, she heard the familiar voice of her digimon. "Rika."

"Renamon, where are we?"

"I..I think we're inside of the D-Reaper. Rika, we're still in our Sakuyamon form."

"I know, but, who was calling to us? I thought I heard a voice."

_"Sakuyamon! Wake up! Sakuyamon!"_

"That was Jeri and Calumon!" the redhead shouted.

"Yes," Renamon smiled,"I wonder why we can't see them?"

"It's gotta be the D-Reaper. It's messing with our senses, but I remember now. We were helping Calumon get inside. We must still be there. We've got to get out."

"I agree, but how?"

"Try with all our your might to break these cables that are holding us. Jeri and Calumon are counting on us."

"You got it."

"""""""""""""""""""

On the battlefield, the Tamers were fighting against legions of Agents. The Searchers were easily destroyed, but the Creep Hands and Pendulum Feet were more difficult. The Horn Strikers were almost indestructible, and Practice Heads was still dominating the field.

Wargrowlmon destroyed a Searcher with his front claws, then spun around and fired an Atomic Blaster to destroy another group of Searchers. He stomped on another one. "There's no end in sight!"

"We can't give up!" Kazu shouted over the roar of the battle,"Besides, I think we're making a dent in her army."

"Correct," Guardromon agreed, "We definitely are progressing."

Kazu sighed. "You've got to stop talking so nerdy."

Guardromon was going to respond, but a Creep Hands seemingly appeared out of thin air. It hopped around on the ground before latching itself onto Guardromnon's shoulder. It raised one of his hands and began slapping to the robotic digimon in the face.

"Guardromon!" Kazu cried, "It's humiliating you!"

"Do not worry, Kazu," he said. He managed to lift his arms and fire his Guardian Barrage, which tore through the Agent, causing it to explode apart.

"All right!" Kazu cheered, running to his partner,"No one can beat us! We're unstoppable!"

"Kazu," his partner said, "I'm reading strange energy signals from the cord."

They both glanced down to where the cord was flopping around like a snake. It suddenly leapt into the air and the end opened to a tremendous size. It shot down and enveloped both of them with a muffled scream. The cord flung backwards into the Mother D-Reaper.

The others witnessed this horrific capture. "Kazu!" Takato shouted, "Kazu!"

Ai was horrified. "She..she ate them!"

"Assimilated!" Yamaki gasped, "That must be what happened to Wong, Artemis and Orion!"

The legions of Searchers suddenly stopped their attack. They hovered over the group and began to shift and change, turning into a group of grey, jellyfish type creatures, with a flat center, and four cylinders handing from the middle.

"Oh great, more of them?" Beelzemon sighed, "We never get a break, do we?"

The new agents lifted their cylinders and pointed at the group. "I think we're in trouble," Wargrowlmon said.

"Run!" Tai shouted, "Now!"

The group charged for cover as the agents fired streams of energy beams at them. When the energy attacks hit the ground, they caused a small explosion that twisted the group around in the sky. As Yamaki was twirled through the air, he was unaware that the key to unlocking the energy shield fell from around his neck.

The metallic key twisted in the air and landed on the ground. A rare case of good luck for the forces of Earth occurred as Takato landed next to it. He realized at once what it was, and placed it around his own neck. "I'd better keep my eye on this until I find Mr. Yamaki."

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Inside of the new Hypnos base, the remaining Monster Makers, along with Alice and Lopmon, watched the war zone below them. "I should be out there helping them," Lopmon said.

"Please don't," Alice said, "You may think that your digivolving powers are as good as the others, but they're sporadic. I don't want you to get hurt."

"She's right," Babel said, "Nothing against you, but I don't think you'll be much help, they seem to be doing everything they can, and you'd just be one more thing they have to worry about. The D-Reaper got Kazu and Guardromon, how long before she gets everyone else?"

Lopmon just stared out the window. "I hope they're all right."

"Hey Babel!"

He turned around and saw Tally waving to him. "Guys, you've got to see this!"

The Monster Makers ran over to Tally's computer terminal and looked over her shoulder. "What's up?"

"When Kazu and Guardromon were absorbed, the energy spectrum suddenly spiked. I analyzed that with the other out-coming energy and I think I found out where the D-Reaper's energy single is coming from."

"Where?"

"That giant red ball between the towers of the Hypnos building!"

The others glanced out the window to the giant red bubble of the Mother D-Reaper. The two towers of the Hypnos building were sticking out of the top, with another, separate, red bubble situated near the top. "There?" Daisy asked.

Tally nodded. "Yeah, I started examining that bubble closer, and I found that a lot of energy waves were flowing from it. I bet that bubble is the center of the Mother D-Reaper's core."

"Hmm," Curly said, rubbing her chin,"The Kernel of Intelligence?"

"Exactly!" Tally nodded, "That red bubble seems to be just a shield of some kind. If we could just break through it..."

Daisy sat down in her own computer terminal and started typing, "Wait a minute, wasn't there a vaccine program that Hypnos created...Hmm, here it is..Yuggoth. Hey, wasn't that the name of a robotic machine?"

"It was both," Riley said, walking up behind them, "But what do you want with that program?"

"Maybe we can use that to break through the shield."

Riley nodded. "Do it."

""""""""""""""""""""

Back on the battlefield, the armies of Agents were still wreaking havoc across the city. Pendulum Feet and Creep Hands slashed and tore through the buildings, while the Horn Strikers took a less delicate approach and simply smashed through the concrete walls. As they continued their destruction of the city, the Tamers tried their best to curb the tide of darkness, or in their case, redness.

Practice Heads continued to stomp across the city streets with a dozen of the newer Bubble Agents and Pendulum Feet guarding it. The Tamers were still trying to overcome the towering agent, but the other Agents also held their attention. They were certain that if Practice Heads could just be destroyed, they would have a much easier time with the other Agents.

Unfortunately, the price of battle had separated them across the large city. Tai and Kasumi fought against the ground based Agents, while Yamaki and the twins rode on Beelzemon's motorcycle as he leapt across building roofs. The Hypnos Commander used the demon lord's guns to blast as many Searchers and Bubbles as he could. This left Takato and Wargrowlmon to battle the powerful Practice Heads alone.

Wargrowlmon swung both of his fists at the towering Agent, but she caught his fists in her large hands. Takato's digimon struggled to move out of the way, but she held him tight. After a few minutes of struggling, he used his rockets to support himself as he swung his two feet out and pound Practice Heads in the chest area. Her hands released his, and her shot back to a safer distance.

Practice Heads was still recovering from the powerful kick in the chest, so Wargrowlmon needed to strike before it was too late. The two circles next to the hazard sign on his chest began to glow. "Atomic Blaster!" His energy attack blew the agent apart, leaving on her feet and a small section of her back. This left her still connected to the Mother D-Reaper, and this connection enabled her to regenerate her entire body.

"Oh man!" Takato sighed, "Isn't there anyway to get rid of this thing?"

"Don't worry, Takato," Wargrowlmon growled,"I'm not going to give up!"

"Look out!"

Veedramon ducked as she felt Wargreymon fly above her and destroy a Creep Hands before it could harm her. She smiled slightly. "Thanks."

A Horn Striker dashed between them. "Woa!" the dragon gasped. She jumped back, but saw that Wargreymon was busy with another Horn Striker, so she began her battle with the villainous Agent.

Above them, Tai and Kasumi were riding atop Nefertimon as the angel digimon used her Rosetta Stone to destroyed as many Searchers and Bubbles as she was able. Kasumi held tightly to the white digimon until she noticed her partner fighting below. "Veedramon!"

Tai looked to the ground and saw his daughter digimon partner engaging in a battle with a Horn Striker. "She's not strong enough to find a Horn Striker on her own! Nefertimon, we've got to cut that cord."

"I'll do it!" Kasumi shouted. She jumped off of Nerfertimon and soared to her partner.

"Kasumi!" Tai shouted.

The teenager missed the Agent's cord, but was able to reduce her injuries by rolling with the momentum. She could have caused herself a broke bone, but she emerged with only a few scrapes.

"She looks okay," Tai said with relief.

Nefertimon chuckled as she flew to the ground. "That's your genes you know. Kari use to be the same way."

"Hey, Sora's did plenty of stupid things when she was a kid."

"Not as bad as you! You Kamiyas are nuts."

Back on the ground, Kasumi found that she had landed in an alley filled with garbage that had not been taken out before the evacuation. She saw a large piece of glass sticking up inside one of the dumpsters. She yanked it up, thankfully that she was wearing her thick winter gloves, and charge at the cord. She was about to slice it apart, but it suddenly flopped into her. She dropped the piece of glass and was flung into a pile of garbage bags. She watched as Nefertimon fired her Rosetta Stones at the cord, leaving the Horn Striker vulnerable. Without its connection to the Mother D-Reaper, the Agent was easily destroyed by Veedramon's V-breath Arrow. Her father ran up to her a second later.

"Kasumi!" he shouted, "Are you okay? What were you thinking?"

She did not respond. Tai sighed as he examined her cuts and bruises. He sighed. "Well, at least you'll be okay."

There was a loud explosion a few blocks away. "We've got to find the others."

"Like Takato?" she snapped.

"What?"

"Go ahead, find him, and leave me here because I'm not a boy. That's why I live with Mom and Matt, right?"

"What?" he asked, completely shocked and confused.

"I heard what you said," she growled, "That you wished Takato was your son."

Tai sighed. "Kasumi, I just meant that he reminded me of myself at his age. And I look to him like a son, just like I look to Jenrya and Kazu as sons." He lightly brushed a strand of her hair out of her face, "And we decided that you should live with your mother, because I wouldn't know the first thing about what a young girl goes through. I couldn't help you with stuff like.." He stuttered for a second, "like Tampons or boys. In fact, I'll probably kill anyone you bring home, so you'd better watch out for that."

He saw that she was starting to smile, so he placed both of his hands on her shoulders. "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think or worry about you. Kasumi, I have _never_ regretted having a daughter."

"Oh, Daddy," she said, hugging him, "I'm sorry." As she embraced him, she could see the cord from the destroyed Horn Striker moving closer to them. It suddenly leapt up, like a serpent ready to strike.

"Dad, look out!" she called, shoving him aside. The mouth of the cord swallowed her whole body.

"Kasumi, no!" Tai shouted. He heard a muffled cry from behind. When he spun around he saw that Veedramon had been captured by a cord as well. Both of them were flung back to the Mother D-Reaper. "Kasumi!"

"""""""""""""

On the rooftops, Beelzemon's motorcycle roared across the building tops. The small group had decided that attacking the Agents themselves would be too time-consuming, so they attempted to blast as many cords as they could. Yamaki operated Beelzemon's guns, and was surprised at how easily the digital bullets blasted through the connections between the Mother D-Reaper and her agents. Beelzemon drove the motorcycle with experienced ease, which left the twins between the two of them.

"Are you two okay down there?" Yamaki asked.

"We're fine," Mako said, grabbing his sister tightly.

Ai held onto Beelzemon's back, "Just don't drop us."

Beelzemon grinned as he pulled his machine across a gap between two alleys and landed on the ledge. "Don't worry! I've been doin' this a long time now! I'm perfectly in control!"

Yamaki shouted. "Beelzemon, look out!"

The demon lord spun around and saw a Searcher flying towards the motorcycle. He was in mid-leap, so he could not move out of the way in time. The D-Reaper Agent slammed into the front wheel, causing the machine to spin around in the sky. Beelzemon was able to get the motorcycle onto the next building, but he had lost his past finesse, so he skidded out, scattering his passengers across the roof.

Yamaki groaned slightly as he sat up. "Oh man." He looked around and saw the others lying across the roof. He got up and started to walk toward Ai and Mako, when he heard a noise behind him. He spun around and saw the Searcher staring at him. He still had Beelzemon's gun, so he quick blasted the Agent to pieces. It seemed this was what it wanted, however, as the cord swallowed him as well.

"Oh no!" Ai gasped,"Mr. Yamaki's gone too!"

"Now whada we do?" Beelzemon asked.

The trio suddenly became aware that the building they were standing on was shaking. Before they could react to that, however, a loud explosion sounded from behind. On instinct, they fell to the ground and covered their heads. They were able to see that a large white beam flew over their heads and smashed into the giant red bubble hovering between the two towers connected to the Mother D-Reaper. A massive crater appeared at the point of impact, and it caused the rest of the ball to shatter like a piece of glass.

Inside, Jeri and Calumon noticed that they were suddenly able to see the outside world. They watched the red ball shatter around them, moving to where Sakuyamon was trapped. The shattering also destroyed the wall to which the merged mega was attached.

"Woa!" she cried as she suddenly found herself in the night sky. She had lost too much power to keep herself afloat, so the power of gravity took over and pulled her towards the ground. Unfortunately. the Mother D-Reaper was in between. She used her remaining strength to fire a burst of magical energy that propelled her away from the Mother D-Reaper bubble and into the top floor of a nearby building.

Back on the roof, the twins and Beelzemon were in shock. "What the heck was that thing?" the demon lord digimon asked.

Ai turned around and saw a curious object on a building a few buildings away. "That thing looks like a cannon."

"Commander Yamaki! Commander Yamaki!"

"That sounds like Miss Ootori!" Mako gasped, "But where's it coming from?"

The young boy ran across the roof, following the sound of Riley's voice like a homing beacon. He reached the spot where Yamaki was before he was absorbed and he saw a small, rectangular shaped object lying there. "It's his cell phone," he gasped. He ran over and answered it. "Hello?"

Riley was silent for a second. "Yamaki?"

"Yamaki got absorbed by the D-Reaper!"

He heard Riley swear. "Who is this?"

"It's Mako."

Inside of the new Hypnos headquarters, Riley swore again. "Yamaki just got absorbed by the D-Reaper and Mako's got his cell phone."

The Monster Makers and Tally groaned. "Does he know where Kamiya is?" Babel asked, hopefully.

"Mako, do you know where Kamiya is?"

"No, I don't. We all got separated."

"Perfect."

"Wait a minute!" Alice snapped her fingers, "Mako and his sister Ai are partnered to Beelzemon, a Mega digimon! _He_ could do it!"

Riley smiled slightly. "I'm glad you're here." She turned her attention back to her cell phone. "Okay Mako, listen carefully. You saw that white beam in the sky, right?"

"Yeah?"

"That was our Yuggoth Blaster. We used it to destroy the red ball that was suspended between the two towers next to the Mother D-Reaper. Do you see anything else there instead?"

Mako squinted his eyes and stared at the two towers. "No I..wait, yes I do! It looks like a smaller ball."

He could hear the excitement in Riley's voice. "Yes! We think that's the D-Reaper's Kernel of Intelligence. Listen, Jeri Katou is inside of that bubble."

"Jeri's in there!"

"Yes, can your digimon rescue her?"

Mako turned to where Beelzemon was towering behind him. "Can you do it?"

He nodded. "I'm sure-as-heck gonna try!"

"He'll do it," Mako answered into the transmitter.

"Okay, good luck."

"What's going on?" Ai asked, running back over.

"I'll tell you later," Mako said. He turned to Beelzemon, who was already climbing onto his motorcycle.

"Listen, I want you two to get to the street. Ya'll probably be safer there then up here."

"What about you?" Mako asked.

Beelzemon grinned and lightly rubbed his head. "Don' worry, kid. I'll be back!" He gassed his engine then took off. The two children watched as he drove along the building ledge until he reached the edge, where he jumped onto the next building and repeated the cycle.

He jumped a few more buildings before he arrived at one of the few remaining buildings in close proximity to the Mother D-Reaper bubble. He drove along the roof, looking for something to propel himself closer, when he spied the entrance from the inside of the building to the roof, the door was on one side, but the back resembled a ramp. "Hey, great luck!" he chuckled, "Maybe I'll pull this thing off after all!"

He drove back as far as he could, then shot towards the ramp like lightning. He took a deep breath as he flew off the edge and sailed towards the translucent ball between the two towers. His incline was not too high or too low, he was right on target. He felt a surge of energy within him, he was going to do it! He was going to rescue Jeri!

His luck started to chance, however, when the Mother D-Reaper sensed his approach. She sent part of her own red mass up to protect the Kernel. It took the form of a ring around the ball, making it resemble the planet Saturn. This thin ring formed into a series of sharp spikes, with four balls at every ninety degrees.

Beelzemon's eyes opened wide with shock. "Uh oh."

This Gatekeeper fired a barrage of sharp spikes which tore through Beelzemon. The force of the attack sent him soaring to the ground. He crashed onto the pavement and skidded a full mile before finally stopping. He raised his head slightly, but could not maintain the effort and fell back to the ground.

Ai and Mako had reached the street level and witnessed their digimon's defeat. They ran to his side, and saw, to their horror, that his body was beginning to scatter apart.

"Beelzemon!" Ai cried, "Beelzemon, you can die! We need you!"

The two children suddenly noticed that a swarm of Bubbles were heading towards them, but they would not leave their digimon friend.

"Beelzemon!" Mako called, "Beelzemon get up! Get up!"

Above them, those assembled inside of the Hypnos Headquarters watched Beelzemon's fall as well. "I can't believe he failed," Alice sighed.

Lopmon looked to her, then back out the glass. She used her Blazing Ice attack to shatter the window. While Alice and the others watched in shock, she jumped onto the ledge.

"Lopmon!" Alice gasped, "What are you doing?"

"Beelzemon's near death, Wargrowlmon can't hold out much longer against Practice Heads, Mr. Kamiya and his digimon are near exhaustion, and everyone else has been absorbed. Unless we all do everything we can, the D-Reaper will win. I have a power that can help them, but it won't come without a sacrifice."

Alice stared at her. "Lopmon, you don't mean that..?"

The small digimon looked over her shoulder. "Goodbye Alice. Thank you for everything that you've done for me. I'll never forget you."

"Lopmon!" Alice cried as her friend jumped out of the window.

"Lopmon digivolve to Antylamon!"

The massive rabbit landed on the street and charged to Beelzemon's resting place. She jumped over the fallen Mega and leapt to the sky. The horde of Bubbles turned their attention away from Beelzemon and followed her. They fired all at once. Antylamon never had a chance, her body exploded into its data. A large portion was caught in the force of the impact and sent flying to a farther part of the city. The rest slowly trickled down to where Beelzemon and the twins where lying.

"Antylamon's gone too!" Ai gasped,"This can't be happening!"

The Bubbles headed back towards them. "Beelzemon!" Mako shouted,"Get up now! Beelzemon!"

The Mega digimon did not hear him, however, for he was trapped in a world of darkness. He knew that Antylamon had died, and that his partners were in trouble, but he could not make his body move.

_"BeelzemonBeelzemon!"_

He looked up and saw an image of Lopmon standing over him. "L..Lopmon? But, you're..."

"Yes, but in death I can help you. I was given a gift by the Sovereign one that can give you the ability to change to a more powerful mode, Blast Mode!"

"A more powerful mode?" he gasped, "But what are you..?"

Lopmon smiled slightly. "You will find out shortly. Use this new power to safe Jeri. Goodbye Beelzemon." Her image faded.

"Lopmon, Lopmon!" He called, but it was no use. He was beginning to fall into despair, when he suddenly felt a surge of energy exploding across his body! Lopmon's data, it was merging with him! A large portion formed around his right hand, while another portion attached itself to his back, the rest spread out across his body. He was gaining more power!

He suddenly opened his eyes to the real world and saw a swarm of Bubble Agent zooming towards him. He grabbed Ai and Mako with his left arm and used his new wings to fly into the air, seconds before the Bubbles' attacks would have incinerated them.

"You're flying?"Ai gasped, "You're flying!"

Beelzemon grinned. "That's not all I can do!" He pointed his right arm, which now came equipped with a large bazooka shaped gun, at the swarm of Bubbles. "Corona Blaster!"

A massive surge of energy exploded from him and destroyed the entire horde of Bubbles.

"Cool," Mako said in awe.

Beelzemon chuckled. "Now, let's go save Jeri!"

Across the city, Wargrowlmon stopped his battle with Practice Heads when he felt a strange burst of energy. "What's wrong?" Takato asked.

"Someone's Digital energy is gone."

"What do you mean?"

Wargrowlmon sighed. "A Digimon is dead."

Takato felt his heart sink to his stomach. "D..dead? Who was it?"

"I don't know. I.." He could not finish speaking as Practice Heads swung at his head with her massive fists. He stumbled off balance and the Agent fired her lasers, which caused him to tip over and land on his side. With agility and strength that she had not used before, Practice Heads leapt into the air and forcefully slammed into Wargrowlmon side. The might dinosaur screamed out in pain, then shrunk back into Guilmon.

"Guilmon?" Takato gasped, "Guilmon, w..what happened?"

"I'm too tired," he panted, "I can't keep fighting."

Practice Heads stomped over to them. Takato and Guilmon stared up at the towering Agent. "I think this is the end of the line," Guilmon gulped.

"It can't!" Takato shook his head, "There's got to be something that...Hey, is it snowing?"

Human and digimon looked around and saw that small white particles were falling from the sky. They were puzzled, with the shield in place, it should not be able to snow inside. Even the Agent was confused.

"Shield above city prevents escape, precipitation cannot be falling...Non precipitation, data particles."

Guilmon sniffed the air. "They _are_ data. Lopmon's!"

Takato nodded. "You mean, Lopmon's..?"

As if to answer him, a transparent image of the rabbit appeared."Takato, Guilmon, I have a gift for you."

"Lopmon?" Guilmon gasped, "Are you?"

She nodded. "But in death, I can help you. The Sovereign foresaw such a problem and gave me a great gift. My data will merge with you, granting you the ability to Bio-merge once more. Use it to defeat the D-Reaper. Goodbye." She vanished.

The two watched as her particles merged with them. "Thank you," Takato said. He turned to Guilmon. "Ready?"

The dinosaur nodded. "Do it."

**Bio-merge activate**

"Guilmon bio-merge to Gallantmon!"

Practice Heads seemed unaware of the change, but her internal sensors were registering the power surge from the might mega. Gallantmon pointed his lance at her.

"En Garde!"

Back in the skies, Beelzemon soared to the Kernel. Unfortunately, the Gate Keeper was still guarding it. The Agent fired its razor blades again. "Look out!" Ai shouted.

Beelzemon grinned. With simple ease, he now dodged and twisted past the flying razors. "Ya can't stop me now!" he shouted with glee. He pointed his bazooka arm at one of the floating balls. "Corona Blaster!"

The ball exploded and took out the rest of the agent. Without the Gate Keeper, the Kernel Sphere was left unprotected. "That wasn't so hard."

"Behind us!" Mako shouted.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw a swarm of Bubbles zooming towards them. "Gotta work fast." He took a deep breath and landed on the transparent ball. Inside, the trio could clearly see Jeri and Calumon.

The brown-haired girl grinned. "Ai! Mako! Beelzemon!"

"We're gettin' you out!" the digimon said. He dropped his bazooka and started pounding the bubble. "I'm gonna free ya! Just hang on!"

The Bubble Agents came ever closer. "Beezlemon!" Ai gasped.

He knew the Agents were coming, but he kept pounding. "If I can just get her out, she'll be safe!"

Mako held her sister, certain that they were going to be joining Lopmon soon. The Bubble agents hovered above them, ready to attack. However, they were suddenly destroyed instead. The two children grinned when they saw who was responsible. "Nefertimon and Mr. Kamiya!" Ai called.

"And Wargreymon!" Mako grinned.

"Here you guys are!" Tai said, landing on the transparent ball. When he did, he was able to see who was inside. "Jeri!"

"Mr. Kamiya, help me!" she cried.

"We've got to get her out!"

"Whadda think I'm tryin' ta do?" Beelzemon snapped.

Tai just grabbed his Master Digidestined sword. He was about to try and shatter the bubble, when he narrowly missed being incinerated by a blast from a Bubble. He grabbed the twins and jumped onto Nefertimon.

"Wargreymon, you and Beelzemon work on freeing her, we'll by you some cover."

Nefertimon flew into the air and began blasting the Bubbles.

Gallant and Practice Heads battle continued. The mega was having a much easier time against the villainous agent this time. He now had an agility he did not have as Takato or Wargrowlmon. He was now able to execute leaps and twists, all to dodge Practice Heads' attacks.

The Agent began firing her lasers all at once, but Gallantmon leapt out of the way. The energy blasts tore through an apartment, ripping a giant hole in the wall. Gallantmon leapt towards her and attempted to kick her, but she blocked with her right arm, and slammed him with her left. He was able to roll with the attack and bring his other leg up and across the large ball on her shoulders.

Inside of Gallantmon's body, Takato floated in the haze of light red. "Guilmon," he said, "We'd better hurry. I think something bad is happening."

"Right, Takato!" Guilmon called.

Gallantmon leapt into the air and trusted his lance at the towering Agent. He held his shield out, intending for her to counter with lasers, but she reached up with her hands and grabbed his lance.

"Ah!" Takato gasped, "Guilmon!"

"Don't worry, I've got it under control."

Gallantmon leapt over the Agent's head and used the edge of his shield to sever the umbilical cord. With the connection between the Agent and the Mother D-Reaper destroyed, Practice Heads no longer had the ability to regenerate herself. Gallantmon knew this and pointed his shield directly at her center.

"Shield of the Just!"

A mighty blast of energy exploded from his shield and tore through Practice Heads' stomach. She exploded a second later, sending a red slime all over the alley. Gallantmon breathed a sigh, then regressed to Takato and Guilmon.

"She was tough," Guilmon sighed.

Takato panted. "I know, but we'd better find the others. Come on."

Back in the sky, as Nefertimon did her best to destroy the Bubbles that were attempting to attack the two mega digimon atop the Kernel Sphere. Beelzemon and Wargreymon pounded into the transparent bubble with no success.

"Come on!" Wargreymon shouted, "Put your back into it!"

"Whadda think I'm doing over here!" he snapped, slamming his fists into the transparent bubble. "Come on, come on! Shatter, crack, chip, do somethin' ya stupid bubble. Damn you!"

The demon digimon was so attentive to his desire to shatter the sphere that he did not notice a Searcher slowly crawl up to his leg. The Agent moved back, then wrapped itself around Beelzemon's ankle. The mega was suddenly yanked into the air.

"Beelzemon!" Wargreymon shouted.

The demon digimon tried to free himself from the Agent that was wrapped around his ankle, but a swarm of Bubbles wrapped themselves around his entire body. "No, no!" he moaned, struggling to get free, "I'm not gonna let you take me! Not before I do this!"

He pointed his one arm out, which twisted and changed into a massive gun. "Wargreymon!" he screamed, "Get outta the way!"

The dinosaur mega saw what was being pointed his way. "Woa!" he called, jumping into the sky.

Beelzemon struggled to keep his bazooka aimed at the transparent bubble. "Corona Destroyer!"

A tremendous surge of powerful energy exploded from his gun and smashed across the top of the Kernel. Beelzemon grinned to himself before he allowed the D-Reaper agents to pull him into the Mother D-Reaper's red mass.

"Beezlemon!" Tai and Mako shouted.

"Hey!" Tai gasped, staring at the crater in the Kernel Sphere, "He did it. Take me down."

Nerfterimon lowered Tai to the sphere. He jumped off and caught the edge of the crater to keep himself from falling to the ground. He looked inside and saw Jeri trying to jump up to catch the edge of the hole, but it was too far for her to reach. "Mr. Kamiya!"

"Hang on!" Tai shouted. He pulled himself up with his left hand and reached down with his right hand. Jeri jumped up and caught Tai's hand with her's. "Gotcha! Hold on, Jeri, we'll get you out of here." He looked over his shoulder to call to his Digimon, but found to his horror that they were already being assimilated by the D-Reaper. Ai, Mako, Nefertimon and Wargreymon were now part of the Mother D-Reaper.

"Fine," he said to himself, "I'll get her out myself."

He pulled her hand as hard as he could, but he was not able to get the leverage he needed. He was only able to lift her into the air, but that was as far as he could. "Save me Mr. Kamiya!" she called, "Please!"

"I'm...trying..."

She looked at him with such hopeful eyes that he felt a renewed surge of determination. "I'm getting you out!" He pulled harder, but she was too heavy for his one arm alone. He suddenly noticed something that caused him to pull even harder, the crater on the Kernel was starting to repair itself.

"We've got to hurry!" he shouted. Underneath of Jeri, Calumon was pressing him back against her rear, trying to use his powers of flight to push her into the air, but she was too big for him.

"Calumon, push!" Tai called. He suddenly felt something pulling him from behind. He turned and saw that a Searcher had wrapped itself around his leg. It was trying to assimilate him as it did the others, but he would not let Mother D-Reaper do it before he freed Jeri.

He felt that his grip on her hand was starting to slip. "Jeri, don't let go!"

"Mr. Kamiya's I'm loosing my grip!"

"Jeri, don't!" he shouted, "Jeri!"

Her hands slid down to his fingers, before finally slipping out of his grasp. She and Calumon fell onto the bottom of the bubble. She looked up but saw that the crater had been repaired. "No!" she shouted, tears starting to fall down her cheeks,"Mr. Kamiya!"

Outside, Takato and Guilmon watched in horror as the Searcher that was attached to Tai's ankle pulled him into the Mother D-Reaper bubble. "Mr. Kamiya!" he screamed, "No!"

Guilmon was in total shock. "She got Mr. Kamiya."

A low, loud groan suddenly sounded throughout the city. "Where's that coming from?" Guilmon asked.

"It's her!" Takato growled,"Look at the Mother D-Reaper bubble!"

Both human and digimon watched as the massive red bubble started to pull every single agent in the city back to it. After the Agents returned to it, the bubble began to twist and change into a more human looking shape, with a head that had two yellow blades attached to its side. The new figure was slightly smaller then the combined mass of the bubble form, but they suspected that it was far more dangerous.

"I guess the Mother D-Reaper wants to take care of us herself!" Guilmon gasped.

"She must have been waiting until she absorbed enough people before she could change like that! We're the only ones left."

"Not the only ones."

They turned and saw Rika and Renamon running towards them. "Where the hell have you been?" Takato snapped.

"Trapped inside!" Rika snapped. She mentioned to the silver dome covering the city. "What the heck is that thing?"

"An energy dome," he explained, "It keeps the D-Reaper trapped inside of here. Unfortunately, that means we're trapped her too. The only way out is to deactivate the main generator with an electronic key and since Mother D-Reaper has both Mr. Kamiya and Mr. Yamaki, she knows that neither of them has it."

Rika raised her eyebrow. "D-Reaper's female?"

He nodded. "We think that when it merged with Jeri, it took on female characteristics."

"Oh," she nodded,"Hey, if neither Mr. Kamiya or Mr. Yamaki has this key, who does?"

Takato just turned and grinned at her.

"Oh great!" she snarled, "The person that the D-Reaper is coming after, and I get stuck with him."

"Rika," Renamon warned, "I think we need to focus on what needs to be done."

Rika sighed. "She's right. Well Goggle Head, any ideas?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Jeri's in that transparent bubble over there. I think that the reason Jeri's in a separate place then the others that D-Reaper absorbed is because Jeri acts as D-Reaper's partner! Just like our partners can't exist in this world without us, I bet D-Reaper can't exist here without Jeri! If we can free her..."

Rika nodded, a smile crossing her face. "Not bad."

Takato sighed. "The only flaw is that we're probably going to have to get past Mother D-Reaper first."

Rika nodded. "Well, I'm game, ready Renamon?"

"Always."

Takato turned to his partner. "Guilmon?"

"Let's go!"

**Bio-merge activate**

"Renamon bio-merge to Sakuyamon!"

"Guilmon bio-merge to Gallantmon!"

The two megas stood firmly as they stared at Mother D-Reaper. "This could be our final fight," Sakuyamon said.

"I'm ready," Gallantmon growled, "This ends now!"


	18. Apocalypse: Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**December 24, 2015**

**Bio-merge activate**

"Renamon bio-merge to Sakuyamon!"

"Guilmon bio-merge to Gallantmon!"

The two megas stood firmly as they stared at Mother D-Reaper. "This could be our final fight," Sakuyamon said.

"I'm ready," Gallantmon growled, "This ends now!"

The Mother D-Reaper stared at both of the megas. She raised her arms and flexed her giant, red muscles. When this act did not intimidate Sakuyamon and Gallantmon, she stomped over with her massive legs. Both megas did not even flinch.

"You think that can scare us, you're wrong!" Sakuyamon shouted, defiantly.

Gallantmon nodded his agreement. "You're not going to make us back off now! We're here, and you're going to pay for all of your crimes!"

They both nodded. They stared at the Mother D-Reaper, determined that nothing would cause them to back off, nothing would intimidate them. They were going to defeat the invader, and return peace to the world. Nothing would have shocked them at this point, but, to their surprise, the Mother D-Reaper spoke.

"Oh really?" she asked, in a deep sinister version of Jeri's voice,"Don't bet on it!"

"You spoke?" Sakuyamon asked in awe.

"Forget that!" Gallantmon gasped, "It's the _way_ she was speaking, like she had..."

"Emotion?" D-Reaper chuckled. "Yes, I have absorbed enough mental energy from subject Katou Jeri to experience emotions and observed you humans to speak in your style."

High above them, Jeri and Calumon were still trapped inside of the Kernel Sphere. "She got that from _me?"_ Jeri asked, "I..I don't talk like that, do I?"

She turned to Calumon, but he just coughed and turned away from her.

"Calumon!" she snapped,"That's not funny!"

Down below, Mother D-Reaper seemed to have just remembered about her two captives. She raised one of her hands, then pointed it at the roof of a building closer to the battlefield. The Kernel Sphere flung from between the two towers and situated itself on the building's roof.

"Jeri!" Takato shouted from inside of Gallantmon.

"Takato!" she shouted.

"Silence!" Mother D-Reaper snapped at the teenage girl. She cowered at the rage she felt.

"That's enough!" Gallantmon shouted, "You need to be stopped!"

"Ha!" Mother D-Reaper laughed, "My swarms of ADR-02, the ones you called 'Searchers' have observed your fighting style. I know every move you will make, you can't beat me!"

"You're lying!" Gallantmon grinned, "I haven't been fighting as Gallantmon until just now. I bet you don't know _my_ fighting styles!"

Mother D-Reaper chuckled slightly. "Maybe, but what about your partner?"

"What?" Sakuyamon gasped.

"Don't listen to her!" Gallantmon ordered, "She's just trying to distract you. We can't let her do it! We're the only ones left! If we do defeat her, here and now, nothing can!"

Sakuyamon nodded. "I am ready."

Gallantmon lead the attack by charging forward with his lance ready to strike. Sakuyamon hovered in the air behind him. As the mega knight was unable to fly, he was only able to attack the towering invader's leg. He executed a frenzy of jabs and thrusts, and succeeded in creating a large hole in the D-Reaper's leg. He jumped back and grinned to himself. "All right."

The large hole in the Mother's leg slowly repaired itself, leaving her un-harmed. "No!" he shouted. He glanced up to the head of the towering behemoth. D-Reaper did not have the functions to smile, but he was sure she would have if she could. She forcefully used the same foot to send him flying backwards. She threw her fist down to crush him, but Sakuyamon leapt to Gallantmon's rescue.

She swung her staff around before her. "Spirits of fire/Warriors of great nature/Grant me your power!"

A large red fox emerged from her staff and exploded into Mother D-Reaper's fist. The might giant cringed back in fear. Sakuyamon was shocked. "Hey, that actually hurt her?"

Inside of the Kernel Sphere, Jeri started to rub her fist. "What's wrong Jeri?" Calumon asked.

"Sakuyamon's attack, it really hurt her," she said, in awe, "But why am I...? Wait, Mother D-Reaper said that she was connected to me; that must mean that _I'm_ connected to her too!" She smiled slightly, "Maybe there's something I can do."

Sakuyamon ran over to Gallantmon's side. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said, slowly standing up, "I-Look out!"

The two Megas quickly dove out of the way to avoid D-Reaper's foot. Sakuyamon attacked the Mother D-Reaper's foot from the right and Gallantmon slashed from the left. D-Reaper used her other foot to kick the knight onto his back and a simple shake of her right foot sent Sakuyamon crashing into a brick wall.

"This is going to be harder then we thought," the fox woman said.

"She's too big!" Gallantmon shouted, "We can't do any damage from down here. Oh, I wish I could fly!"

Sakuyamon leapt over. "I can. I'll lift you up there."

He nodded. "I'm ready."

She grabbed him by the shoulders and flew towards the head of D-Reaper. "Alright," Gallantmon said, "Let me go."

Sakuyamon released her grip and the knight fell towards the red giant. He swung his lance around, "Lightning Joust!"

The blast created a hole in the D-Reaper's chest. He planted his lance in the small crater and caused a massive rip in the Mother's skin as gravity pulled him to the ground. Sakuyamon used this opportunity to fire another red fox into the large cut. The Mother D-Reaper stumbled backwards.

"Yes!" the fox woman grinned, "We're actually hurting her"

Gallantmon got onto his feet. "Yeah, but it doesn't last long! Look!"

Sakuyamon spun around and watched in horror as the massive wound on D-Reaper's chest pulled itself together. "Oh man!" she sighed, "What's it going to take to kill her?"

"More then you've got!" Mother D-reaper chuckled.

"We're not going to give up!" Gallantmon shouted,"Never! We're going to save Jeri, no matter what you say or do!"

Inside of the Kernel, Jeri smiled broadly. "Takato.."

Sakuyamon landed next to Gallantmon. "Okay, we need a new plan."

Gallantmon caught his breath. "Okay, since physical attacks don't seem to be working, we need to use something with even more power."

"Our energy attacks," Sakuyamon nodded. "All right, nothing else seems to be working."

The two megas stared at Mother D-Reaper. "Okay," Gallantmon said, "I'm going to attack, you go right behind me."

"Got it."

Gallantmon charged forward and swung his lance around. "Lighting Joust!"

Sakuyamon created two beams of light with her staff. "Spirits of water/Givers of the holy life/Grant me your power!"

She fired a blue fox at the evil invader. Her attack merged with Gallantmon's attack, causing Mother D-Reaper's body to spasm as it was electrically shocked. The two megas grinned to each other, but were thrown aside as she slammed her fist into the ground. Sakuyamon floated into the air, but Gallantmon quickly saw an opportunity. He leapt onto her fist and run up her arm to her shoulder. He pointed his lance at the side of the Mother D-Reaper's head and tried his attack again. "Lighting Joust!"

The force of the impact sent him backwards where he landed gracefully on a building's roof. He watched with anticipation as Mother D-Reaper stumbled around in a daze. Her head was un-harmed, but her inability to remain in one place suggested that the mega knight had damaged something inside of the evil behemoth.

Sakuyamon floated up to him. "What are you doing up here?"

"I'm waiting for a taxi. What do you think!"

Sakuyamon was about to snap back, when Gallantmon shouted to her. "Look out!"

The fox woman was not able to move out of the way in time before Mother D-Reaper's fist slammed her in the side and sent her flying off the roof. Mother D-Reaper glared at the armored knight. "You will pay for that!" she sneered.

Gallantmon leapt onto the ledge. "I'm taking you out first! Shield of the Just!" He braced himself as he shield fired a beam of intense energy at the red monster. Mother D-Reaper raised both of her palms and executed a similar attack. The two beams of energy slammed into each other, illuminating the sky.

Sakuyamon sat up from where she had landed and lightly rubbed her head. "Wow, that hurt." She looked up and saw the energy duel between Gallantmon and Mother D-Reaper. "I've got to help him."

She started running to the battlefield when she noticed the Kernel Sphere on top of the building she was next to. The Mother D-Reaper was distracted, but Gallantmon could not hold out against her for very long. But he would want her to save Jeri; that was the most important thing. Should she leave Gallantmon on his own or rescue something that had no powers or abilities at all. The fox woman nodded and flew towards the Kernel Sphere.

Jeri was staring so intently at the energy duel between Mother D-Reaper and Gallantmon that she did not notice Sakuyamon silently flying towards her until Calumon pulled on her dress. "Jeri."

She spun around. "What?"

"Look!"

The brown haired teenager broke into a giant grin when she saw the fox woman hovering outside. "Sakuyamon!"

"Hang on," she whispered, "I'll find a way to get you out."

A few blocks up the street, Mother D-Reaper and Gallantmon were so focused on their own battle, they were completely unaware of Sakuyamon's attempted rescue. That is, until Jeri's feelings of hope and joy reached the Mother D-Reaper via their connection. The evil matriarch turned her eyes slightly down the street to the Kernel Sphere. She could not spare her attention to deal with the threat. While she was stronger than Gallantmon, he had enough 'leverage' in their energy duel, that if she broke away, he could cause her serious harm. She had a way to handle the situation. She groaned slightly as her side burst apart to allow a figure to shoot out.

Gallantmon recognized this new figure at once. "J-Reaper?"

ADR-1, known to Takato and Guilmon as J-Reaper, flew across the city streets and tackled Sakuyamon to the ground before the fox woman could succeed in freeing Jeri and Calumon. She tumbled on the ground before jumping onto her feet. Inside of the mega, Rika glanced around the darkness. "Renamon, what was that?"

"Something attacked us."

"But wha? There!"

Sakuyamon spun around in time to be kicked by the J-Reaper. This time she was able to keep her balance and only skidded back a few feet. She glanced up to see that was attacking her and gasped in horror. "What that heck is that?"

J-Reaper just grinned as she leapt forward, swiping her claws at the fox woman. "Scanning memories of Katou Jeri...confirmed. Sakuyamon, merged form of Rika Nonaka and Renamon. One who held Katou Jeri hostage and betrayed Kamiya and the Tamers..."

Sakuyamon growled as she held onto her staff. "I know what I did is beyond forgiveness, but I'm going to try! And I don't need you to remind me of every mistake that I made!"

She launched forward at the same time as the D-Reaper Agent. The two warriors crashed into each other, twisting their bodies around before slamming into the ground. Sakuyamon rolled to a safe distance, then spun around to attack, but the Agent was gone. She looked to the sky and saw J-Reaper dive bombing towards her. She was only able to swing her staff up and block the Agent's claws. The two were locked in a struggle before the fox woman managed to swing her into the ground.

Back at the energy duel, Gallantmon watched Sakuyamon and J-Reaper through the corner of his eye. "Worried about your partner?" Mother D-Reaper asked,"You should be. There's no way that she'll be able to stop my most powerful Agent. And once I overpower your pathetic 'Shield of the Just' beam, I will have won! I will be the strongest being on Earth!"

"I liked it better when she talked like a machine," Takato muttered.

"Me too," Guilmon agreed.

Sakuyamon panted as she glanced around with her staff. "Where did she go?" The pavement directly in front of her exploded as J-Reaper shot from underneath. The fox woman was too shocked to move out of the way before the Agent slashed her claw across the armored mega. She cringed and stumbled back. J-Reaper was relentless as she pounded and tore into Sakuyamon. The fox woman was finally able to get a footing on the ground and threw J-Reaper into a brick wall of a building. The Agent responded by rocketing forward and throwing Sakuyamon into a building's wall across the street. J-Reaper shrieked and leapt forward, ready to strike at the fox woman. Sakuyamon swung her staff, sending a wave of energy into the harpy, sending her crashing into the ground.

The mega digimon flew forward and was able to smash her staff into J-Reaper's face. ADR-1 brought her hands up and grabbed the staff. She swung Sakuyamon around in the sky and smashed her into the pavement. The fox mega used her sharp heeled boots to jab into J-Reaper's side. This caused the Agent to release her grip on Sakuyamon's staff. The fox woman leapt into the air, unfortunately, the J-Reaper shot after her. She pounded her claws into the mega's chin, then grabbed and threw her into the side of a brick building. She gave small chuckle and shot towards her. Sakuyamon gave a small chuckled, then pointed her staff in the air.

"Spirit Strike!"

J-Reaper's eyes shot open as Sakuyamon's energy attack tore through her, causing her body to dissolve. Sakuyamon had defeated the last D-Reaper Agent, but the amount of energy needed was too much for the mega to sustain. She glowed bright, then split back into Rika and Renamon.

The teenager slowly got onto her feet. She tried to take a step forward, but only succeeded in falling over. "Renamon, can we Bio-merge?"

"I don't think so, Rika," she said, weakly, "I'm too weak."

"Yeah," Rika sighed, "Me too." She looked up to where Gallantmon was still trying to overpower Mother D-Reaper. "Well, Goggle Head, it's up to you."

The evil invader chuckled as she continued to pour her energy beam into Gallantmon's Shield of the Just attack. "Sakuyamon has been defeated, your mentor and your friends are now part of me. You're the only one left. You have failed."

Gallantmon sighed. "Maybe she's right. The D-Reaper's just too powerful, what if we can't win?"

Inside of the Kernel Sphere, Jeri gasped. "What's wrong?" Calumon gasped.

"It's Takato," she said, almost in a trace, "He's loosing hope. If he gives up...no he can't! I've got to help him!"

"What can you do?" Calumon asked.

"I..I...Wait, since the D-Reaper is connected to me, maybe I'm connected to _her!_ If I can find someway to make Mr. Kamiya talk to him..." She closed her eyes and concentrated.

Gallantmon kept pouring his energy into the Shield of the Just attack. Despite his impressive display of determination, he was silently debating his mission. Mother D-Reaper seemed unstoppable; she had already absorbed everyone else, and that was before she evolved into her present form. If Mr. Kamiya and Yamaki failed, what hope did he have?

"You're starting to falter, aren't you?" Mother D-Reaper asked, "You're going to fail, whether you keep fighting or not. No one can defeat me, I am the ultimate in evolution! I am the perfect being, the perfect evolved warrior!"

Gallantmon started to realize that the red behemoth might be correct. He started to loose hope and the amount of power of his Shield of the Just beam began to dwindle. Mother D-Reaper chuckled. "You've lost your lead, and now you're through!" She roared and her energy beam grew twice in size. Gallantmon's beam was overpowered as the impact point of the two beams flew towards the mega knight.

"I've lost!" he gasped. He was so focused on his own internal struggle that he failed to notice a beam of orange light shoot from the Mother D-Reaper's body and into his own armored form.

"What?" Mother D-Reaper gasped,"What is this?"

Gallantmon could not answer, as deep inside of his mind, Takato and Guilmon suddenly found themselves inside of a black void. "Guilmon?" he asked, "If you're here, and I'm here, then we're not Gallantmon anymore, are we?"

"We're not!" Guilmon gasped,"And where are we?"

"This is the landscape of your mind."

The duo spun around and saw Tai and his two digimon partners standing in the darkness. "Mr. Kamiya?"

The Master Digidestined nodded. "Yeah."

"But, I thought the D-Reaper got you?"

"She did. The reason I'm able to talk to you is because of Jeri. She's using her connection with the Mother D-Reaper to give me the chance to convince you not to give up!"

Takato sighed. "Mr. Kamiya, I'm sorry. I can't beat her, she's too strong!"

"No she's not!" he snapped, "The only reason you think you can't win is because you think you can't! The only way you can loose, is if you give up!"

Takato nodded. "But how can I win? She's so strong."

Tai sighed. "That's why I'm here. Takato, you were my best student...well, my _Tamer_ student, and you remind me of myself. And that's why I am giving you my own trait, Courage." He held out his hand and a small orange ball flowed into the teenager's chest.

Takato looked on with awe. "Wow."

Tai smiled. "Jeri's trying her best, and the others need to talk to you. Good luck, and remember, never give up."

He slowly vanished, but in his place appeared Jenrya and Terriermon. "Hey Takato."

"Jenrya," he smiled.

"Hey!" Terriermon protested, "No one says any hellos to me?"

"Hi, Terriermon!" Guilmon waved.

"Hi Guilmon!" Terriermon called.

"Stop it you two!" Jenrya snapped,"This is serious!"

Takato chuckled. "It's good to see you two again. So, what's up?"

"Not much, I'm afraid," he chuckled, "I know why I'm here and I've been thinking about what I could give you. I never thought I had much to offer to the team, I mean, you and Rika were so powerful, what reason could Mr. Kamiya have for wanting me on the team? Well, I think I found the reason."

"What?" Takato asked.

Jenrya smiled slightly. "My sense of justice, my sense of right and wrong. Dad always told me I should be a judge or lawyer."

Takato nodded slightly. "Yeah, I think that suits you fine."

Jenrya gave Takato his power of justice in the same manner that Tai gave his courage. "Good luck." he waved as he and Terriermon vanished. Kazu and Guardromon appeared next.

"Hey, Takato man! What's up?"

"Kazu!" he shouted in reply.

Guardromon bowed. "Greetings Takato, Guilmon."

"Hi, Guardromon," Guilmon waved.

Kazu scratched the back of his head. "Well, I know why I'm here, Jeri told me, but I don't know what I can give you. I mean, besides my superior card battling skills, but that can't help you here."

Takato laughed slightly. "I know what you can give me, and its something that I really need right now."

"What?"

"Your sense of self-confidence," Takato grinned, "I need it right now."

Kazu nodded. "All right, then take it with my love, Chumly. I'll see you soon."

After he and Guardromon disappeared, Kasumi and Snow Agumon faded in. "Hello Takato."

He nodded. "Kasumi."

Tai's daughter fidgeted slightly. "I know that we haven't really known each other that long, but I want to say that..well, that you're a great warrior."

"Really?" he asked, smiling slightly.

She nodded. "Yeah, I've lived around fighters like you all my life. My father is one, my mother and step-father are fighters, so are most of my friends back in New York." She smiled, "But I think you're the best one I've ever seen. I know that you can beat the D-Reaper, you just think that you can't."

Takato smiled slightly. "I'm beginning to understand that I can."

Kasumi shrugged. "Well, my gift to you is my heart, my father always told me that my greatest power was my goodness. I know it's not much, but I'm giving it to you."

Ai, Mako and Impmon appeared after Kasumi faded. "Takato," they bowed.

He returned the formality. "Hi."

Ai spoke. "Jeri told us to give you a trait that we have, but I don't think we have anything."

"Yeah," Mako sighed, "We're just a bunch of little kids, what can we give you?"

Takato smiled. "I know the perfect thing you can give me, something that I think we've forgotten about too much as we grow up, Innocence."

The trio smiled as they faded. Next to appear was Ryo and Cyberdramon. "Well," Takato said, "Orion."

Ryo nodded. "I know that we haven't always been fighting on the same side, but I want to help you now."

Cyberdramon nodded in agreement.

Ryo held out his palm and a grey sphere floated into Takato's chest. "That is something that I haven't had much of lately, it was buried deep within me, but I don't think its ever been as strong as it is now. Take my honor."

Takato nodded as he felt the power flowing through him. "Thank you.".

Inside of the Kernel Sphere, Jeri fell onto her rear, exhausted. Calumon looked to her. "What happened?"

"That's all I can do," she said, panting, "I'm just not strong enough. I can't give him any more help."

Calumon pointed to where Rika was lying on the ground. "What about her?"

Jeri glanced down at the other girl and nodded. "Yeah, Rika!" She started pounding on the edge of the bubble. "Rika! Rika!"

The red head turned to the hovering bubble. "What?"

"Your power!" she screamed, "Give your power to Takato!"

Rika glanced up to where Mother D-Reaper and Gallantmon were still fighting. Despite the energy battle that was occurring, six glowing beams of light flowed from the Mother into Gallantmon. "My power?" she asked.

"Yes!" Jeri cried, "Your trait, you special emotion, whatever it's called! Give it to him!"

"My..trait?" she asked, "Well, what do I...? Wait, I've got it." She grabbed her D-Arc and pointed it skyward. It shot a beam of blue light into Gallantmon. "Takato, this is all I have to give to you, I just hope it's enough. Take my Determination!"

Inside of Gallantmon's armored body, Takato grinned in delight. "Guilmon, can you feel it?"

"Yes, Takato, all of their powers, they're flowing through us! Nothing can stop us now!"

"Yeah Guilmon, now, let's show Mother D-Reaper exactly what we can do!"

Outside, Gallantmon's body started to glow brightly. "What's happening?" Mother D-Reaper shouted.

Down below, Rika stared on in awe. "Renamon?"

The fox appeared behind her. "I have no idea."

Gallantmon continued to glow brighter and brighter and brighter until the light exploded in a force that illuminated the entire city. When it faded, a new Gallantmon stood on the building roof. This one did not wear white armor, but a fiery red suit. Instead of a flowing cape, he had a set of white wings, and two glowing sabers.

Mother D-Reaper was in complete awe. "What is this? I don't have any information in my database!"

"Well," the new Gallantmon said, "You can add this to your database, I am Gallantmon Crimson Mode!"

"C..Crimson Mode?" she gasped. "Well, even if you have succeeded in evolving to a higher level, you still do not have enough strength to defeat me!"

Gallantmon flew into the air and slashed the sword in his left hand. A crescent of light flowed from the glowing saber and exploded into the Mother D-Reaper, splitting her skin open. He attacked with the other sword, causing the same result in the evil behemoth.

"This can't be!" she shouted, "My sensors must be defective!"

"They aren't," Gallantmon said, "Your time of arrogance is over!"

The Mother D-Reaper screamed. "I'll never give up! Never!" She placed both of her palms together and a ball of white light appeared. "It is illogical for a weaker being to defeat a stronger being. I am the perfect evolved being! You cannot defeat me, it defies the laws of logic. You will be eliminated!"

The ball of light transformed into a powerful beam, which shot to the floating Gallantmon. "Takato!" Jeri screamed, "Get out of the way!"

"Takato!" Rika called, "You've got to move!"

Gallantmon remained still as the beam of light smashed into him. Everyone held their breaths, sure that he was destroyed. However, much to their delight, he remained completely un-injured. Mother D-Reaper's beam of power had reached Gallantmon, or more accurately, his left palm, which he was using to hold back the beam. This beam from one of the most powerful being the Earth had ever seen, a creature that destroyed entire city blocks in a matter of hours, and _hr was holding the beam with his palm!_

Gallantmon did not show any joy or happiness. He knew that the battle was not over yet. He did, however, give a small yell, which sent a beam of red light out of his palm, which shot D-Reaper's beam back towards her. The Mother D-Reaper responded by giving her own small yelp. The point of impact between the two beams moved back towards Gallantmon.

"Do you now compute?" Mother D-Reaper shouted, "I too am able to evolve as the situation demands!"

"No!" Rika gasped, "Even in his new form, he doesn't have enough strength to defeat Mother D-Reaper. He needs more power!"

"We are the only ones that are here," Renamon said.

Rika nodded. "Then it has to be up to us!"

Renamon nodded. "I am ready for whatever you wish to do."

The Digimon Queen once again raised her D-Arc and pointed it at the newly evolved mega. A thick, dark blue beam shot from the small device and into Gallantmon. The knight spun to stare at her. "Rika, what are you doing!"

"Giving you my power!" she screamed, "Renamon and I are giving you the chance to win!"

"You can't! You've lost too much energy!"

"That doesn't matter!" she screamed, "Take it, take everything I have!"

Her beam of blue light doubled in size and completely encased Crimson Mode Gallantmon. Rika smiled. "There...that's...that's all I have. T..the rest is up t..to you..." She fell to the ground.

"Rika!"

"Ha!" Mother D-Reaper laughed, "She would sacrifice herself to save you? Completely illogical, self-sacrifice defies the laws of life itself! This is why humanity and digimon must be destroyed!"

"You're wrong!" Gallantmon screamed. Through her sensors, Mother D-Reaper was ale to see that Gallantmon's energy had increased dramatically.

"Cannot compute!" Mother D-Reaper shouted, "Cannot compute!"

Gallantmon had both of his sabers in his right hand, which he raised to the sky. The glowing sabers began to glow into a ball similar to the one that Mother D-Reaper had formed. "That's right D-Reaper," Gallantmon said,"Because you'll never understand humans or digimon. You think you're so superior because you find illogic in everything we humans and digimon _are!_ But you'll never understand, you'll never understand our courage!"

An image of Tai, Agumon and Gatomon appeared behind him.

"Our justice!" An image of Jenrya and Terriermon briefly appeared.

"Our goodness!" Kasumi and Snow Agumon's image appeared.

"Our self-confidence!" Kazu and Guardromon.

"Our honor!" Ryo and Cyberdramon

"Our innocence!" Ai, Mako and Impmon.

"Our Determination!" Rika and Renamon appeared.

"And our Love towards one another! You'll never understand."

The ball of light in his right hand glowed even brighter. "You've committed too many crimes, D-Reaper! And I find you guilty!"

The ball glowed even brighter, filling the entire city once more.

Inside of the Kernel Sphere, Jeri and Calumon cheered wildly. "You can do it, Takato!" Jeri screamed, "I believe in you!"

Calumon jumped up and down, "Go Takato! Go! Go! Go!"

Down below, Renamon and Rika were still conscious and staring at the ball of energy in Gallantmon's hands. "Gallantmon!" Renamon cheered.

Rika growled. "That energy I gave you really drained me and I didn't do it for you to just stand up there and try to convert her! What are you waiting for Goggle Head?"

Everyone screamed at once, "Fire!"

Gallantmon swung his hand down and changed the ball of light into a beam, which shot towards the evil invader. "Take this...you bitch! Final Judgment!"

Mother D-Reaper stared as the massive amount of light and energy came careening into her. She refused to move as her body was completely enveloped. Her sensors registered something she had not ever felt before, pain. She screamed in intense agony as her body crumbled. Starting from her limbs and moving inward, she quickly turned to dust. The evil world destroying behemoth, was gone.

Gallantmon slowly floated to the pavement, where he split once more into Takato and Guilmon. The goggle wearing teenager was almost completely out of energy, but he still found enough to stumble over to where Rika was lying on the ground. "Well, 'Digimon Queen'," he chuckled, "We don't work that badly together, do we? When we're not trying to kill one another, that is."

Rika glared up at him. Takato just smiled slightly. She continued to growl, but it turned into a smile. "Yeah."

The Kernel Sphere slowly floated to the ground, where it popped, freeing Jeri and Calumon. The brown haired teenager screamed. "Takato!"

The Tamer spun around and was tackled to the ground by her. "Owe! Jeri!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said, helping him to his feet, "I'm so sorry! Does it hurt?"

"Only when I breath," he said.

Guilmon, Renamon and Rika were struggling to stand behind them. "What about us?" Guilmon asked.

Rika snorted. "Let's face it, Love does conquer all."

"I have a question," Renamon said, "Where are our teammates? The ones that Mother D-Reaper absorbed?"

Rika gasped, then started to look around. "Takato, did you...?"

The goggle wearing Tamer chuckled. "I think this is the first time you've ever called me Takato. And don't worry, everyone's right over there."

Rika and the two digimon looked behind them. Their faces broke into a smile as the rest of their ground ran towards them. "You guys are all okay!" Rika exclaimed, her face breaking into a smile.

After a long reunion, Wong used the key and deactivated the shield generators, allowing the triumphant group to watch the sun slowly raise over the horizon. The red mass of the D-Reaper that was still covering areas of the city were starting to dissolve in the sunlight. Tai placed his hand on Takato and Rika's shoulders. "I'm proud of both of you. You put aside your differences and worked together to defeat one of the worst beings the earth has ever seen. You did really well, and you are both on your way to becoming two of the greatest warriors ever."

"Yeah," Rika sighed. She turned to where Jeri was holding Takato's hand. "Jeri, can you ever forgive me for what I did?"

"Of course!" Jeri smiled.

Rika returned the smile. "Thank you." She turned to her partner, "Renamon, did you hear that..Renamon?" She tried to find the tall fox, but found a small yellow dog creature in her place. "Renamon?"

The others gasped as they looked at their partners. "Guilmon?" Takato cried as he lifted a small red blob in his hands, "Guilmon, is that you?"

"They're in their In-Training forms!" Tai gasped, holding up Koromon and Nyaromon, "But...why?"

Wong snapped his fingers. "Of course! They used their powers to seal away the D-Reaper, they're out of energy. If they don't return to the Digital World, they'll die!"

"No!" Takato shouted, "Guilmon, don't leave."

A glowing circle appeared in the sky and the digimon quickly floated into the portal. As each one returned to the Digital World, their partner called out to them.

Kazu: "Guardromon, I love ya' man!"

Ai and Mako: "Goodbye Impmon, we'll miss you!"

Kasumi: "Snow Agumon, don't leave!"

Ryo: "Cybderdramon, don't forget me!"

Jeri: "Thank you, Calumon!"

Jenrya: "Terriermon, I'll never forget you!"

Rika: "Stay strong Renamon!"

Tai: "Agumon, Gatomon, I'll get you guys back, I swear!"

Takato. "GUILMON!" he screamed, "Guilmon!"

The Tamers' pleas were not of any use. They watched with tear-stained eyes as their partners vanished. Everyone broke down in tears. "They're gone," Kasumi cried, "Snow Agumon."

Her father ran over and comforted her. "It's all right," he said, "It'll be okay."

It was not, as Jeri's statement sent a chill down everyone's spines. "I don't feel so good."

They turned to her only to experience a frightening sight: half of her body was gone! "Jeri!" Takato gasped.

"What's happening to her?" Yamaki demanded.

"She's dissolving," Wong exclaimed, "She was connected to the D-Reaper on a molecular level, so since the D-Reaper is dying..."

"No!" Takato screamed, "No! Jeri, fight this!"

The brown haired girl shook her head. "I'm sorry Takato. I can't."

"Jeri, you can't!"

Jeri held her transparent hand out to him, "Goodbye Takato. Remember, I'll always love you."

Takato tried to grab her, but it was not any use. His hands flowed right through her. "Jeri!" he screamed.

She closed her eyes. "Goodbye." Her entire body vanished.

"Jeri!" Takato cried, falling onto his knees, "Jeri..."

**December 25, 2015**

So, Christmas Day came, a day that is suppose to be filled with joy and happiness. As I walked down the street, I passed by little children, who were dancing around and laughing with each other. They were playing with each other in a snow ball fight. I walked right through the middle of their battlefield, but did not care. One of the balls hit me in the shoulder. They started yelling for me to join in, but I wasn't in a very festive mood. I almost screamed at them, but just ignored the little brats and kept walking.

Why did I ever agree to go to this stupid party? Just because Kazu came up to me, "Hey Chumly, I know you're depressed, we all are, but that's all the more reason for us to get into a better mood. Come on, you need to cheer up." I should have just told him to stuff it.

I did go to the party anyway. Kazu was doing his best to throw the 'gala event of the year!' Well, it wasn't that great of a party, not that I've been to many anyway.

All of the Tamers were there, with Mr. Yamaki and Commander Ootori and Onodera. They all seemed like they didn't care at all. Kazu was playing host, while the others were standing around talking. I would have thought that the antisocial Digimon Queen would have been as miserable as me, but she was actually talking with Ryo! I can't believe it, Rika sold me out! I couldn't believe it! I had to get out of there.

I ran out to the balcony and stared over the edge.

"I hope you're not think about jumping."

I turned and saw Mr. Kamiya walking to me. "Hey Takato."

I turned back to looking at the night sky.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. "You should talk about it."

"Why?" I asked, "It just makes the pain so much worse. Guilmon was my best friend!"

He smiled at me. "Don't worry about that. This happened a few times before. You see, when Digimon are in they're In-training forms, they can't stay in this world for very long. Give them a few weeks to regain their strength, and they'll be back."

I started to smile a little. Guilmon was coming back! I was overjoyed, but then I remembered about Jeri.

"Look I appreciate you coming out here, but you don't have any idea what I'm feeling!""

I heard him sigh and I mentally slapped myself. Out the entire group, he was probably the only one that _did_ know what I was feeling. "Mr. Kamiya, I..I'm sorry I.."

He nodded. "It's all right."

We both stared over the balcony. "I just miss her so much," I said, the sharp feeling descending into the pit of my stomach. "Every time I close my eyes, I keep seeing her face." I started to tremble as tears welled up in my eyes, "If I hadn't of destroyed D-Reaper, then..then Jeri would still be alive!"

I couldn't see what Mr. Kamiya was doing, but I did hear him. "Takato, there was no way that you could have known. And even if you did know, you couldn't have sacrificed the city to save her. I know you better than that."

I sniffled. "But I miss her so badly!"

"I know, I know."

I took a few breaths and calmed myself down. I didn't want to ask him, but there was something that I had to know. "Does it get any better? Does the pain ever go away?"

He sighed. "To be totally honest, it doesn't. All I can tell you is that it does get easier. My sister died fifteen years ago, but I don't feel the same way I did the day after she left this world. That doesn't mean that I don't think about her every day, that I don't wonder what kind of woman she would have become." He took a deep breathed and looked to the skies,"You know, she died around this time."

We didn't say anything for a couple of minutes before I turned to him. He was staring at a Christmas Tree. "Some Christmas, huh?" I asked.

He patted my shoulder a few times before he walked back inside. I took a last look around before I snuck back inside and out of the apartment.

I wandered down the streets for a long time. Everyone was celebrating, but I couldn't, how would that honor Jeri's memory? As I traveled down the street, I passed by a small reindeer scene. You know, one of those places where kids could get their pictures with Santa. I wish that I could tell him what I really wanted for Christmas.

I turned away from the scene and wandered to the park. I found myself as Guilmon's hideout. It seemed so empty now. It used to be filled with such energy and emotion, now it was just an empty building.

I was just about to head back, when something caught my eye on the side of the building.

I saw that something had been carved into the cement bricks of Guilmon's hideout. When I saw it, I felt the dark feeling in my stomach return. It was a large heart, with words carved in the center: TAKATO + JERI

I realized at once that Jeri had written it at some point, before the D-Reaper or while she was still inside of it. Why hadn't she told me! Why did she wait so long!

I fell to my knees and cried. All of my depression and anger came flowing out, everything that had been building up since Zhuqiaomon nearly killed me. My 'death', Megidramon, Rika betraying us, the D-Reaper, everything came flowing out.

After what seemed like hours the tears finally ceased. I looked up at the stone carving and saw that there was still room in the heart that Jeri had carved. I picked up a stone and filled in the rest. I then calmed myself down again and stumbled out of the park. Goodbye Jeri, I'll never forget you.

As the sun slowly rose the next morning, it cast its rays on the park, illuminating every snow covered trees and every snow covered brick. When the bright ball of light ascended high enough into the morning sky, its beams of light reached Guilmon's small hideout, allowing the stone carving to be seen to all that past:

TAKATO+JERI

4 EVER

Author's Note:

Okay, this version of "Grown-up Christmas List" is by, I believe, Amy Grant.

Since I have signed up with Support Services, I have been able to view my Enhanced Statistics, and I discovered that while I have not received many reviews, I know how many hits it has received. So, to that end, there _will_ be a sequel to this story, because I know people will read it.

I hope that whatever holiday you celebrate, it is filled with joy and happiness. I probably won't get anything out before the end of the month, so have a Happy New Year!


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